Dynamic delamination crack propagation in a graphite/epoxy laminate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grady, J. E.; Sun, C. T.

1991-01-01

Dynamic delamination crack propagation in a (90/0) 5s Graphite/Epoxy laminate with an embedded interfacial crack was investigated experimentally using high speed photography. The dynamic motion was produced by impacting the beamlike laminate specimen with a silicon rubber ball. The threshold impact velocities required to initiate dynamic crack propagation in laminates with varying initial crack positions were determined. The crack propagation speeds were estimated from the photographs. Results show that the through the thickness position of the embedded crack can significantly affect the dominant mechanism and the threshold impact velocity for the onset of crack movement. If the initial delamination is placed near the top of bottom surface of the laminate, local buckling of the delaminated plies may cause instability of the crack. If the initial delamination lies on the midplane, local buckling does not occur and the initiation of crack propagation appears to be dominated by Mode II fracture. The crack propagation and arrest observed was seen to be affected by wave motion within the delamination region.

Unstable footwear as a speed-dependent noise-based training gear to exercise inverted pendulum motion during walking.

PubMed

Dierick, Frédéric; Bouché, Anne-France; Scohier, Mikaël; Guille, Clément; Buisseret, Fabien

2018-05-15

Previous research on unstable footwear has suggested that it may induce mechanical noise during walking. The purpose of this study was to explore whether unstable footwear could be considered as a noise-based training gear to exercise body center of mass (CoM) motion during walking. Ground reaction forces were collected among 24 healthy young women walking at speeds between 3 and 6 km h -1 with control running shoes and unstable rocker-bottom shoes. The external mechanical work, the recovery of mechanical energy of the CoM during and within the step cycles, and the phase shift between potential and kinetic energy curves of the CoM were computed. Our findings support the idea that unstable rocker-bottom footwear could serve as a speed-dependent noise-based training gear to exercise CoM motion during walking. At slow speed, it acts as a stochastic resonance or facilitator that reduces external mechanical work; whereas at brisk speed it acts as a constraint that increases external mechanical work and could mimic a downhill slope.

Fractography of a bis-GMA resin.

PubMed

Davis, D M; Waters, N E

1989-07-01

The fracture behavior of a bis-GMA resin was studied by means of the double-torsion test. The fracture parameter measured was the stress-intensity factor. Fracture occurred in either a stick-slip (unstable) or continuous (stable) manner, depending upon the test conditions. When stick-slip propagation occurred, the fracture surfaces showed characteristic crack-arrest lines. The fracture surfaces were examined by use of a reflected-light optical microscope. The stress-intensity factor for crack initiation was found to be related to the size of the crack-arrest line which, in turn, could be related to the Dugdale model for plastic zone size. The evidence supported the concept that the behavior of the crack during propagation was controlled by the amount of plastic deformation occurring at the crack tip.

A statistical model of brittle fracture by transgranular cleavage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Tsann; Evans, A. G.; Ritchie, R. O.

A MODEL for brittle fracture by transgranular cleavage cracking is presented based on the application of weakest link statistics to the critical microstructural fracture mechanisms. The model permits prediction of the macroscopic fracture toughness, KI c, in single phase microstructures containing a known distribution of particles, and defines the critical distance from the crack tip at which the initial cracking event is most probable. The model is developed for unstable fracture ahead of a sharp crack considering both linear elastic and nonlinear elastic ("elastic/plastic") crack tip stress fields. Predictions are evaluated by comparison with experimental results on the low temperature flow and fracture behavior of a low carbon mild steel with a simple ferrite/grain boundary carbide microstructure.

Insights into Volcanic Tremor: A Linear Stability Analysis of Waves Propagating Along Fluid-Filled Cracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lipovsky, B.; Dunham, E. M.

2012-12-01

Crack waves are guided waves along fluid-filled cracks that propagate with phase velocity less than the sound wave speed. Chouet (JGR, 1986) and Ferrazzini and Aki (JGR, 1977) have shown that such waves could explain volcanic tremor in terms of the resonant modes of a finite length magma-filled crack. Based on an idealized lumped-parameter model, Julian (JGR, 1994) further proposed that the steady flow of a viscous magma in a volcanic conduit is unstable to perturbations, leading to self-excited oscillations of the conduit walls and radiation of seismic waves. Our objective is to evaluate the possibility of self-excited oscillations within a rigorous, continuum framework. Our specific focus has been on basaltic fissure eruptions. In a typical basaltic fissure system, the magnitudes of the wave restoring forces, fluid compressibility and wall elasticity, are highly depth dependent. Because of the elevated fluid compressibility from gas exsolution at shallow depths, fluid pressure perturbations in this regime propagate as acoustic waves with effectively rigid conduit walls. Below the exsolution depth, the conduit walls are more compliant relative to the magma compressibility and perturbations propagate as dispersive crack waves. Viscous magma flow through such a fissure will evolve to a fully developed state characterized by a parabolic velocity profile in several to tens of seconds. This time scale is greater than harmonic tremor periods, typically 0.1 to 1 second. A rigorous treatment of the wave response to pressure perturbations therefore requires a general analysis of conduit flow that is not in a fully developed state. We present a linearized analysis of the coupled fluid and elastic response to general flow perturbations. We assume that deformation of the wall is linear elastic. As our focus is on wavelengths greatly exceeding the crack width, fluid flow is described by a quasi-one dimensional, or width-averaged, model. We account for conservation of magma mass and momentum including compressibility and viscous drag. Our analysis further assumes small perturbations about a steady background flow, a linearized isothermal equation of state, and a nominally constant width channel. We confirm Julian's results that sufficiently rapid flow through a deformable-walled conduit is unstable to perturbations in the form of crack waves. Instability occurs when drag reduction from opening the conduit exceeds the increase in drag from increased fluid velocity. Crack waves are most unstable at long wavelengths, where the conduit becomes more compliant. In the long wavelength limit, we find a simple expression for the critical flow speed beyond which crack waves are unstable: u = c / 2, where c is the crack wave phase velocity. The instability condition is remarkably independent of viscosity. This result more rigorously confirms the conclusion of Dunham and Ogden (2012, J. App. Mech.), who found the same instability criterion under the limiting assumption of fully developed flow. In a typical basaltic system the occurrence of this instability requires flow speeds exceeding ~50 m/s at depths where magma is primarily liquid melt with little exsolved gas. At these depths, flow speeds of this order are unlikely to occur. We conclude that harmonic tremor due to self-excited oscillations is unlikely to occur in nature.

Detection of Cracking Levels in Brittle Rocks by Parametric Analysis of the Acoustic Emission Signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moradian, Zabihallah; Einstein, Herbert H.; Ballivy, Gerard

2016-03-01

Determination of the cracking levels during the crack propagation is one of the key challenges in the field of fracture mechanics of rocks. Acoustic emission (AE) is a technique that has been used to detect cracks as they occur across the specimen. Parametric analysis of AE signals and correlating these parameters (e.g., hits and energy) to stress-strain plots of rocks let us detect cracking levels properly. The number of AE hits is related to the number of cracks, and the AE energy is related to magnitude of the cracking event. For a full understanding of the fracture process in brittle rocks, prismatic specimens of granite containing pre-existing flaws have been tested in uniaxial compression tests, and their cracking process was monitored with both AE and high-speed video imaging. In this paper, the characteristics of the AE parameters and the evolution of cracking sequences are analyzed for every cracking level. Based on micro- and macro-crack damage, a classification of cracking levels is introduced. This classification contains eight stages (1) crack closure, (2) linear elastic deformation, (3) micro-crack initiation (white patch initiation), (4) micro-crack growth (stable crack growth), (5) micro-crack coalescence (macro-crack initiation), (6) macro-crack growth (unstable crack growth), (7) macro-crack coalescence and (8) failure.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sibiryakov, B. P., E-mail: sibiryakovbp@ipgg.sbras.ru; Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, 630090

This paper studies properties of a continuum with structure. The characteristic size of the structure governs the fact that difference relations are nonautomatically transformed into differential ones. It is impossible to consider an infinitesimal volume of a body, to which the major conservation laws could be applied, because the minimum representative volume of the body must contain at least a few elementary microstructures. The corresponding equations of motion are equations of infinite order, solutions of which include, along with usual sound waves, unusual waves with abnormally low velocities without a lower limit. It is shown that in such media weakmore » perturbations can increase or decrease outside the limits. The number of complex roots of the corresponding dispersion equation, which can be interpreted as the number of unstable solutions, depends on the specific surface of cracks and is an almost linear dependence on a logarithmic scale, as in the seismological Gutenberg–Richter law. If the distance between one pore (crack) to another one is a random value with some distribution, we must write another dispersion equation and examine different scenarios depending on the statistical characteristics of the random distribution. In this case, there are sufficient deviations from the Gutenberg–Richter law and this theoretical result corresponds to some field and laboratory observations.« less

Resolved shear stress intensity coefficient and fatigue crack growth in large crystals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, QI; Liu, Hao-Wen

1988-01-01

Fatigue crack growth in large grain Al alloy was studied. Fatigue crack growth is caused primarily by shear decohesion due to dislocation motion in the crack tip region. The crack paths in the large crystals are very irregular and zigzag. The crack planes are often inclined to the loading axis both in the inplane direction and the thickness direction. The stress intensity factors of such inclined cracks are approximated from the two dimensional finite element calculations. The plastic deformation in a large crystal is highly anisotropic, and dislocation motion in such crystals are driven by the resolved shear stress. The resolved shear stress intensity coefficient in a crack solid, RSSIC, is defined, and the coefficients for the slip systems at a crack tip are evaluated from the calculated stress intensity factors. The orientations of the crack planes are closely related to the slip planes with the high RSSIC values. If a single slip system has a much higher RSSIC than all the others, the crack will follow the slip plane, and the slip plane becomes the crack plane. If two or more slip systems have a high RSSIC, the crack plane is the result of the decohesion processes on these active slip planes.

The effect of crack motion during epoxy crack injection and curing.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-06-01

One strategy to regain structural integrity of cracked reinforced concrete bridge deck girders is to inject the cracks with epoxy. Many bridge owners allow all traffic to use the bridge during injection and curing, while other bridge owners restrict ...

Unstable behavior of anodic arc discharge for synthesis of nanomaterials

DOE PAGES

Gershman, Sophia; Raitses, Yevgeny

2016-07-27

A short carbon arc operating with a high ablation rate of the graphite anode exhibits a combined motion of the arc and the arc attachment to the anode. A characteristic time scale of this motion is in a 10 -3 sec range. The arc exhibits a negative differential resistance before the arc motion occurs. Thermal processes in the arc plasma region interacting with the ablating anode are considered as possible causes of this unstable arc behavior. It is also hypothesized that the arc motion could potentially cause mixing of the various nanoparticles synthesized in the arc in the high ablationmore » regime.« less

Unstable behavior of anodic arc discharge for synthesis of nanomaterials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gershman, Sophia; Raitses, Yevgeny

A short carbon arc operating with a high ablation rate of the graphite anode exhibits a combined motion of the arc and the arc attachment to the anode. A characteristic time scale of this motion is in a 10 -3 sec range. The arc exhibits a negative differential resistance before the arc motion occurs. Thermal processes in the arc plasma region interacting with the ablating anode are considered as possible causes of this unstable arc behavior. It is also hypothesized that the arc motion could potentially cause mixing of the various nanoparticles synthesized in the arc in the high ablationmore » regime.« less

Torsional vibration of a cracked rod by variational formulation and numerical analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chondros, T. G.; Labeas, G. N.

2007-04-01

The torsional vibration of a circumferentially cracked cylindrical shaft is studied through an "exact" analytical solution and a numerical finite element (FE) analysis. The Hu-Washizu-Barr variational formulation is used to develop the differential equation and the boundary conditions of the cracked rod. The equations of motion for a uniform cracked rod in torsional vibration are derived and solved, and the Rayleigh quotient is used to further approximate the natural frequencies of the cracked rod. Results for the problem of the torsional vibration of a cylindrical shaft with a peripheral crack are provided through an analytical solution based on variational formulation to derive the equation of motion and a numerical analysis utilizing a parametric three-dimensional (3D) solid FE model of the cracked rod. The crack is modelled as a continuous flexibility based on fracture mechanics principles. The variational formulation results are compared with the FE alternative. The sensitivity of the FE discretization with respect to the analytical results is assessed.

Incidence of Dentinal Cracks after Root Canal Preparation with Twisted File Adaptive Instruments Using Different Kinematics.

PubMed

Karataş, Ertuğrul; Arslan, Hakan; Alsancak, Meltem; Kırıcı, Damla Özsu; Ersoy, İbrahim

2015-07-01

The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of root canal instrumentation using Twisted File Adaptive instruments (Axis/SybronEndo, Orange, CA) with different kinematics (adaptive motion, 90° clockwise [CW]-30° counterclockwise [CCW], 150° CW-30° CCW, 210° CW-30° CCW, and continuous rotation) on crack formation. One hundred five mandibular central incisor teeth were selected. Fifteen teeth were left unprepared (control group), and the remaining 90 teeth were assigned to the 5 root canal shaping groups as follows (n = 15): adaptive motion, 90° CW-30° CCW, 150° CW-30° CCW, 210° CW-30° CCW, continuous rotation, and hand file. All the roots were sectioned horizontally at 3, 6, and 9 mm from the apex with a low-speed saw under water cooling, and the slices were then viewed through a stereomicroscope at 25× magnification. Digital images of each slice were captured using a camera to determine the presence of dentinal cracks. No cracks were observed in the control group, and the continuous rotation group had more cracks than the reciprocation groups (90° CW-30° CCW, 150° CW-30° CCW, and 210° CW-30° CCW) (P < .05). Both the continuous rotation and adaptive motion groups had significantly more dentinal cracks than the hand file group (P < .05). Regarding the different sections (3, 6, and 9 mm), there was a significant difference between the experimental groups at the 9-mm level (P < .05). The incidence of dentinal cracks is less with TF Adaptive instruments working in 210° CW-30° CCW reciprocating motion compared with working in continuous rotation and adaptive motion. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Discrete Dislocation Modeling of Fatigue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Needleman, Alan

2004-03-01

In joint work with V.S. Deshpande of Cambridge University and E. Van der Giessen of the University of Groningen a framework has been developed for the analysis of crack growth under cyclic loading conditions where plastic flow arises from the motion of large numbers of discrete dislocations and the fracture properties are embedded in a cohesive surface constitutive relation. The material model is independent of the presence of a crack and the only distinction between an analysis of monotonic crack growth and fatigue crack growth is that in fatigue the remote loading is specified to be an oscillating function of time. Thus, a basic question is: within this framework, do cracks grow at a lower driving force under cyclic loading than under monotonic loading, and if so, what features of fatigue crack growth emerge? Fatigue does emerge from the calculations as a consequence of the evolution of internal stresses associated with the irreversibility of the dislocation motion. A fatigue threshold, Paris law behavior, striations and the accelerated growth of short cracks are outcomes of the simulations. Also, scaling predictions obtained for the fatigue threshold and the fatigue crack growth rate are discussed.

Comparison of the quasi-static method and the dynamic method for simulating fracture processes in concrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, J. X.; Deng, S. C.; Liang, N. G.

2008-02-01

Concrete is heterogeneous and usually described as a three-phase material, where matrix, aggregate and interface are distinguished. To take this heterogeneity into consideration, the Generalized Beam (GB) lattice model is adopted. The GB lattice model is much more computationally efficient than the beam lattice model. Numerical procedures of both quasi-static method and dynamic method are developed to simulate fracture processes in uniaxial tensile tests conducted on a concrete panel. Cases of different loading rates are compared with the quasi-static case. It is found that the inertia effect due to load increasing becomes less important and can be ignored with the loading rate decreasing, but the inertia effect due to unstable crack propagation remains considerable no matter how low the loading rate is. Therefore, an unrealistic result will be obtained if a fracture process including unstable cracking is simulated by the quasi-static procedure.

A crack-like rupture model for the 19 September 1985 Michoacan, Mexico, earthquake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruppert, Stanley D.; Yomogida, Kiyoshi

1992-09-01

Evidence supporting a smooth crack-like rupture process of the Michoacan earthquake of 1985 is obtained from a major earthquake for the first time. Digital strong motion data from three stations (Caleta de Campos, La Villita, and La Union), recording near-field radiation from the fault, show unusually simple ramped displacements and permanent offsets previously only seen in theoretical models. The recording of low frequency (0 to 1 Hz) near-field waves together with the apparently smooth rupture favors a crack-like model to a step or Haskell-type dislocation model under the constraint of the slip distribution obtained by previous studies. A crack-like rupture, characterized by an approximated dynamic slip function and systematic decrease in slip duration away from the point of rupture nucleation, produces the best fit to the simple ramped displacements observed. Spatially varying rupture duration controls several important aspects of the synthetic seismograms, including the variation in displacement rise times between components of motion observed at Caleta de Campos. Ground motion observed at Caleta de Campos can be explained remarkably well with a smoothly propagating crack model. However, data from La Villita and La Union suggest a more complex rupture process than the simple crack-like model for the south-eastern portion of the fault.

Knee motion variability in patients with knee osteoarthritis: the effect of self-reported instability

PubMed Central

Gustafson, Jonathan A.; Robinson, Megan E.; Fitzgerald, G. Kelley; Tashman, Scott; Farrokhi, Shawn

2015-01-01

Background Knee osteoarthritis has been previously associated with a stereotypical knee-stiffening gait pattern and reduced knee joint motion variability due to increased antagonist muscle co-contractions and smaller utilized arc of motion during gait. However, episodic self-reported instability may be a sign of excessive motion variability for a large subgroup of patients with knee osteoarthritis. The objective of this work was to evaluate the differences in knee joint motion variability during gait in patients with knee osteoarthritis with and without self-reported instability compared to a control group of older adults with asymptomatic knees. Methods Forty-three subjects, 8 with knee osteoarthritis but no reports of instability (stable), 11 with knee osteoarthritis and self-reported instability (unstable), and 24 without knee osteoarthritis or instability (control) underwent Dynamic Stereo X-ray analysis during a decline gait task on a treadmill. Knee motion variability was assessed using parametric phase plots during the loading response phase of decline gait. Findings The stable group demonstrated decreased sagittal-plane motion variability compared to the control group (p=0.04), while the unstable group demonstrated increased sagittal-plane motion variability compared to the control (p=0.003) and stable groups (p<0.001). The unstable group also demonstrated increased anterior-posterior joint contact point motion variability for the medial tibiofemoral compartment compared to the control (p=0.03) and stable groups (p=0.03). Interpretation The finding of decreased knee motion variability in patients with knee osteoarthritis without self-reported instability supports previous research. However, presence of self-reported instability is associated with increased knee motion variability in patients with knee osteoarthritis and warrants further investigation. PMID:25796536

Determination of Stable-Unstable Regions of the Slosh Motion in Spinning Space Vehicle by Perturbation Technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Jai Young

2005-12-01

The objectives of this study are to perform extensive analysis on internal mass motion for a wider parameter space and to provide suitable design criteria for a broader applicability for the class of spinning space vehicles. In order to examine the stability criterion determined by a perturbation method, some numerical simulations will be performed and compared at various parameter points. In this paper, Ince-Strutt diagram for determination of stable-unstable regions of the internal mass motion of the spinning thrusting space vehicle in terms of design parameters will be obtained by an analytical method. Also, phase trajectories of the motion will be obtained for various parameter values and their characteristics are compared.

Strain energy density and surface layer energy for a crack-like ellipse

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kipp, M. E.; Sih, G. C.

1973-01-01

Some of the fundamental concepts of sharp crack fracture criteria are applied to cracks and narrow ellipses. The strain energy density theory is extended to notch boundaries, where the energy in a surface layer is calculated and the location of failure initiation is determined. The concept of a core region near the notch tip, and its consequences, are examined in detail. The example treated is that of an elliptical cavity loaded uniformly at a large distance from the hole, and at an angle to the hole; the results are shown to approach that of the crack solution for narrow ellipses, and to display quite satisfactory agreement with recently published experimental data under both tensile and compressive loading conditions. Results also indicate that in globally unstable configurations in brittle materials, the original loading and notch geometry are sufficient to predict the subsequent crack trajectory with considerable accuracy.

Crack instability analysis methods for leak-before-break program in piping systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mattar Neto, M.; Maneschy, E.; Nobrega, P.G.B. da

1995-11-01

The instability evaluation of cracks in piping systems is a step that is considered when a high-energy line is investigated in a leak-before-break (LBB) program. Different approaches have been used to assess stability of cracks: (a) local flow stress (LFS); (b) limit load (LL); (c) elastic-plastic fracture mechanics (EPFM) as J-integral versus tearing modulus (J-T) analysis. The first two methods are used for high ductile materials, when it is assumed that remaining ligament of the cracked pipe section becomes fully plastic prior to crack extension. EPFM is considered for low ductile piping when the material reaches unstable ductile tearing priormore » to plastic collapse in the net section. In this paper the LFS, LL and EPFM J-T methodologies were applied to calculate failure loads in circumferential through-wall cracked pipes with different materials, geometries and loads. It presents a comparison among the results obtained from the above three formulations and also compares them with experimental data available in the literature.« less

The deformation of the front of a 3D interface crack propagating quasistatically in a medium with random fracture properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pindra, Nadjime; Lazarus, Véronique; Leblond, Jean-Baptiste

One studies the evolution in time of the deformation of the front of a semi-infinite 3D interface crack propagating quasistatically in an infinite heterogeneous elastic body. The fracture properties are assumed to be lower on the interface than in the materials so that crack propagation is channelled along the interface, and to vary randomly within the crack plane. The work is based on earlier formulae which provide the first-order change of the stress intensity factors along the front of a semi-infinite interface crack arising from some small but otherwise arbitrary in-plane perturbation of this front. The main object of study is the long-time behavior of various statistical measures of the deformation of the crack front. Special attention is paid to the influences of the mismatch of elastic properties, the type of propagation law (fatigue or brittle fracture) and the stable or unstable character of 2D crack propagation (depending on the loading) upon the development of this deformation.

Dynamics of a fluid-driven crack in three dimensions by the finite difference method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chouet, Bernard

1986-12-01

The finite difference method is applied to the study of the dynamics of a three-dimensional fluid-filled crack excited into resonance by the sudden failure of a small barrier of area ΔS on the crack surface. The impulse response of the crack is examined for various ratios of crack width to crack length and for several values of the crack stiffness C = (b/μ)(L/d), where b is the bulk modulus of the fluid, μ is the rigidity of the solid, and L and d are the crack length and crack thickness, respectively. The motion of the crack is characterized by distinct time scales representing the duration of brittle failure and the periods of acoustic resonance in the lateral and longitudinal dimensions of the source. The rupture has a duration proportional to the area of crack expansion and is the trigger responsible for the excitation of the crack into resonance; the resonant periods are proportional to the crack stiffness and to the width and length of the crack. The crack wave sustaining the resonance is analogous to the tube wave propagating in a fluid-filled borehole. It is dispersive, showing a phase velocity that decreases with increasing wavelength. Its wave speed is always lower than the acoustic velocity of the fluid and shows a strong dependence on the crack stiffness, decreasing as the stiffness increases. The initial motion of the crack surface is an opening, and the radiated far-field compressional wave starts with a strong but brief compression which has a duration proportional to the crack stiffness and size of the rupture area; the amplitude of this pulse increases with the area of rupture but decreases with increasing stiffness. Flow into the newly created cavity triggers a pressure drop in the fluid, which produces a partial collapse of the wall propagated over the crack surface at the speed of the crack wave. The collapse of the crack surface generates a weak long-period component of dilatation following the compressional first motion in the far-field P wave train; the dilatational component is clearer in the signal from stiffer cracks when seen in the direction of the rupture. The energy loss by radiation is stronger for high frequencies, resulting in a progressive enrichment of the crack response in lower frequencies over the duration of resonance. These source characteristics translate into a far-field signature that is marked by a high-frequency content near its onset and dominated by a longer-period component in its coda. The source duration shows a strong dependence on the fluid viscosity and associated viscous damping at the crack wall.

Fracture of a composite reinforced by unidirectional fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hasanov, F. F.

2014-11-01

An elastic medium weakened by a periodic system of circular holes filled with homogeneous elastic fibers whose surface is coated with a homogeneous film is considered. A fracture model for a medium with a periodic structure is proposed, which is based on an analysis of the fracture zone near the crack tip. It is assumed that the fracture zone is a layer of finite length containing a material with partially broken bonds between separate structural elements (end zone). The fracture zone is considered as part of the crack. The bonds between crack faces in the end zone are modeled by applying the cohesive forces caused by the presence of bonds to the crack surface. An analysis of the limit equilibrium of shear cracks in the end zone of the model is performed on the basis of a nonlocal fracture criterion together with a force condition for the motion of crack tip and a deformation condition for determining the motion of faces of end-zone cracks. In the analysis, relationships between the cohesive forces and the shear of crack faces are established, the stress state near the crack is assessed with account of external loading, cohesive forces, and fiber arrangement, and the critical external loads as functions of geometric parameters of the composite are determined.

Bridge-indentation precracking of glass bars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lue, J.L.; Scattergood, R.O.

1993-07-01

Bridge indentation precracking was first reported by Sadahiro et al., and has been used by a number of subsequent investigators. The procedure involves placing a half-penny starter crack, formed by Vickers indentation, at the center of the bottom surface of a rectangular bar specimen. The bar is loaded between pusher and anvil platens. The bridge span S produces tensile bending stress on the bottom surface of the bar, which contains the starter crack. With increasing load, the crack grows stably outward and inward, and at a certain load the crack will propagate unstably (pop-in) to a straight, through-section crack ofmore » length c. The method is very convenient for producing sharp, through-section precracks in ceramic bars without the need for saw cutting or fatigue cycling. However, the effects of bridge geometry and friction on the precracking results will be presented here which point to an important influence of the friction between the specimen and anvil platens.« less

Delamination micromechanics analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adams, D. F.; Mahishi, J. M.

1985-01-01

A three-dimensional finite element analysis was developed which includes elastoplastic, orthotropic material response, and fracture initiation and propagation. Energy absorption due to physical failure processes characteristic of the heterogeneous and anisotropic nature of composite materials is modeled. A local energy release rate in the presence of plasticity was defined and used as a criterion to predict the onset and growth of cracks in both micromechanics and macromechanics analyses. This crack growth simulation technique is based upon a virtual crack extension method. A three-dimensional finite element micromechanics model is used to study the effects of broken fibers, cracked matrix and fiber-matrix debond on the fracture toughness of the unidirectional composite. The energy release rates at the onset of unstable crack growth in the micromechanics analyses are used as critical energy release rates in the macromechanics analysis. This integrated micromechanical and macromechanical fracture criterion is shown to be very effective in predicting the onset and growth of cracks in general multilayered composite laminates by applying the criterion to a single-edge notched graphite/epoxy laminate subjected to implane tension normal to the notch.

Dynamics of Nanoscale Grain-Boundary Decohesion in Aluminum by Molecular-Dynamics Simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yamakov, V.; Saether, E.; Phillips, D. R.; Glaessegen, E. H.

2007-01-01

The dynamics and energetics of intergranular crack growth along a flat grain boundary in aluminum is studied by a molecular-dynamics simulation model for crack propagation under steady-state conditions. Using the ability of the molecular-dynamics simulation to identify atoms involved in different atomistic mechanisms, it was possible to identify the energy contribution of different processes taking place during crack growth. The energy contributions were divided as: elastic energy, defined as the potential energy of the atoms in fcc crystallographic state; and plastically stored energy, the energy of stacking faults and twin boundaries; grain-boundary and surface energy. In addition, monitoring the amount of heat exchange with the molecular-dynamics thermostat gives the energy dissipated as heat in the system. The energetic analysis indicates that the majority of energy in a fast growing crack is dissipated as heat. This dissipation increases linearly at low speed, and faster than linear at speeds approaching 1/3 the Rayleigh wave speed when the crack tip becomes dynamically unstable producing periodic dislocation bursts until the crack is blunted.

Estimation of Crack Initiation and Propagation Thresholds of Confined Brittle Coal Specimens Based on Energy Dissipation Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ning, Jianguo; Wang, Jun; Jiang, Jinquan; Hu, Shanchao; Jiang, Lishuai; Liu, Xuesheng

2018-01-01

A new energy-dissipation method to identify crack initiation and propagation thresholds is introduced. Conventional and cyclic loading-unloading triaxial compression tests and acoustic emission experiments were performed for coal specimens from a 980-m deep mine with different confining pressures of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 MPa. Stress-strain relations, acoustic emission patterns, and energy evolution characteristics obtained during the triaxial compression tests were analyzed. The majority of the input energy stored in the coal specimens took the form of elastic strain energy. After the elastic-deformation stage, part of the input energy was consumed by stable crack propagation. However, with an increase in stress levels, unstable crack propagation commenced, and the energy dissipation and coal damage were accelerated. The variation in the pre-peak energy-dissipation ratio was consistent with the coal damage. This new method demonstrates that the crack initiation threshold was proportional to the peak stress ( σ p) for ratios that ranged from 0.4351 to 0.4753 σ p, and the crack damage threshold ranged from 0.8087 to 0.8677 σ p.

Wave Propagation Analysis of Edge Cracked Circular Beams under Impact Force

PubMed Central

Akbaş, Şeref Doğuşcan

2014-01-01

This paper presents responses of an edge circular cantilever beam under the effect of an impact force. The beam is excited by a transverse triangular force impulse modulated by a harmonic motion. The Kelvin–Voigt model for the material of the beam is used. The cracked beam is modelled as an assembly of two sub-beams connected through a massless elastic rotational spring. The considered problem is investigated within the Bernoulli-Euler beam theory by using energy based finite element method. The system of equations of motion is derived by using Lagrange's equations. The obtained system of linear differential equations is reduced to a linear algebraic equation system and solved in the time domain by using Newmark average acceleration method. In the study, the effects of the location of crack, the depth of the crack, on the characteristics of the reflected waves are investigated in detail. Also, the positions of the cracks are calculated by using reflected waves. PMID:24972050

Electrochemical Interpretation of a Stress Corrosion Cracking of Thermally Treated Ni base Alloys in a Lead Contaminated Water

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hwang, Seong Sik; Lim, Yun Soo; Kim, Hong Pyo

2007-08-20

Since the PbSCC(Lead stress corrosion cracking) of alloy 600 tubing materials was reported by Copson and Dean in 1965, the effect of lead on a corrosion film and cracking morphology have been continually debated. An electrochemical interaction of lead with the alloying elements of SG tubings was studied and the corrosion products were analyzed. It was found that lead enhanced the anodic dissolution of alloy 600 and alloy 690 in the electrochemical test. The lead preferentially dissolved the Cr from the corrosion film of alloy 600 and alloy 690 in alkaline water. The lead ion seemed to penetrate into themore » TG crack tip and react with the corrosion film. A selective Cr depletion was observed to weaken the stability of the passive film on the alloys. Whereas passivity of Ni became stable in lead containing solution, Cr and Fe passivity became unstable.« less

On the response of dynamic cracks to increasing overload

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gumbsch, P.

1996-12-01

One of the most interesting questions in the dynamics of brittle fracture is how a running brittle crack responds to an overload, i.e., to a mechanical energy release rate larger than that due to the increase in surface energy of the two cleavage surfaces. To address this question, dynamically running cracks in different crystal lattices are modelled atomistically under the condition of constant energy release rate. Stable crack propagation as well as the onset of crack tip instabilities are studied. It will be shown that small overloads lead to stable crack propagation with steady state velocities which quickly reach themore » terminal velocity of about 0.4 of the Rayleigh wave speed upon increasing the overload. Further increasing the overload does not change the steady state velocity but significantly changes the energy dissipation process towards shock wave emission at the breaking of every single atomic bond. Eventually the perfectly brittle crack becomes unstable, which then leads to dislocation generation and to the production of cleavage steps. The onset of the instability as well as the terminal velocity are related to the non-linearity of the interatomic interaction.« less

Self-designed posterior atlas polyaxial lateral mass screw-plate fixation for unstable atlas fracture.

PubMed

He, Baorong; Yan, Liang; Zhao, Qinpeng; Chang, Zhen; Hao, Dingjun

2014-12-01

Most atlas fractures can be effectively treated nonoperatively with external immobilization unless there is an injury to the transverse atlantal ligament. Surgical stabilization is most commonly achieved using a posterior approach with fixation of C1-C2 or C0-C2, but these treatments usually result in loss of the normal motion of the C1-C2 and C0-C1 joints. To clinically validate feasibility, safety, and value of open reduction and fixation using an atlas polyaxial lateral mass screw-plate construct in unstable atlas fractures. Retrospective review of patients who sustained unstable atlas fractures treated with polyaxial lateral mass screw-plate construct. Twenty-two patients with unstable atlas fractures who underwent posterior atlas polyaxial lateral mass screw-plate fixation were analyzed. Visual analog scale, neurologic status, and radiographs for fusion. From January 2011 to September 2012, 22 patients with unstable atlas fractures were treated with this technique. Patients' charts and radiographs were reviewed. Bone fusion, internal fixation placement, and integrity of spinal cord and vertebral arteries were assessed via intraoperative and follow-up imaging. Neurologic function, range of motion, and pain levels were assessed clinically on follow-up. All patients were followed up from 12 to 32 months, with an average of 22.5±18.0 months. A total of 22 plates were placed, and all 44 screws were inserted into the atlas lateral masses. The mean duration of the procedure was 86 minutes, and the average estimated blood loss was 120 mL. Computed tomography scans 9 months after surgery confirmed that fusion was achieved in all cases. There was no screw or plate loosening or breakage in any patient. All patients had well-preserved range of motion. No vascular or neurologic complication was noted, and all patients had a good clinical outcome. An open reduction and posterior internal fixation with atlas polyaxial lateral mass screw-plate is a safe and effective surgical option in the treatment of unstable atlas fractures. This technique can provide immediate reduction and preserve C1-C2 motion. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Motion and dural sac compression in the upper cervical spine during the application of a cervical collar in case of unstable craniocervical junction—A study in two new cadaveric trauma models

PubMed Central

Hüttlin, Petra; Grützner, Paul A.; Weilbacher, Frank; Matschke, Stefan; Popp, Erik

2018-01-01

Background Unstable conditions of the craniocervical junction such as atlanto-occipital dislocation (AOD) or atlanto-axial instability (AAI) are severe injuries with a high risk of tetraplegia or death. Immobilization by a cervical collar to protect the patient from secondary damage is a standard procedure in trauma patients. If the application of a cervical collar to a patient with an unstable craniocervical condition may cause segmental motion and secondary injury to the spinal cord is unknown. The aim of the current study is (i) to analyze compression on the dural sac and (ii) to determine relative motion of the cervical spine during the procedure of applying a cervical collar in case of ligamentous unstable craniocervical junction. Methods and findings Ligamentous AOD as well as AOD combined with ligamentous AAI was simulated in two newly developed cadaveric trauma models. Compression of the dural sac and segmental angulation in the upper cervical spine were measured on video fluoroscopy after myelography during the application of a cervical collar. Furthermore, overall three-dimensional motion of the cervical spine was measured by a motion tracking system. In six cadavers each, the two new trauma models on AOD and AOD combined with AAI could be implemented. Mean dural sac compression was significantly increased to -1.1 mm (-1.3 to -0.7 mm) in case of AOD and -1.2 mm (-1.6 to -0.6 mm) in the combined model of AOD and AAI. Furthermore, there is a significant increased angulation at the C0/C1 level in the AOD model. Immense three-dimensional movement up to 22.9° of cervical spine flexion was documented during the procedure. Conclusion The current study pointed out that applying a cervical collar in general will cause immense three-dimensional movement. In case of unstable craniocervical junction, this leads to a dural sac compression and thus to possible damage to the spinal cord. PMID:29624623

Tensile strength of composite sheets with unidirectional stringers and crack-like damage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poe, C. C., Jr.

1984-01-01

The damage tolerance characteristics of metal tension panels with riveted and bonded stringers are well known. The stringers arrest unstable cracks and retard propagation of fatigue cracks. Residual strengths and fatigue lives are considerably greater than those of unstiffened or integrally stiffened sheets. The damage tolerance of composite sheets with bonded composite stringers loaded in tension was determined. Cracks in composites do not readily propagate in fatigue, at least not through fibers. Moreover, the residual strength of notched composites is sometimes even increased by fatigue loading. Therefore, the residual strength aspect of damage tolerance, and not fatigue crack propagation, was investigated. About 50 graphite/epoxy composite panels were made with two sheet layups and several stringer configurations. Crack-like slots were cut in the middle of the panels to simulate damage. The panels were instrumented and monotonically loaded in tension to failure. The tests indicate that the composite panels have considerable damage tolerance, much like metal panels. The stringers arrested cracks that ran from the crack-like slots, and the residual strengths were considerably greater than those of unstiffened composite sheets. A stress intensity factor analysis was developed to predict the failing strains of the stiffened panels. Using the analysis, a single design curve was produced for composite sheets with bonded stringers of any configuration.

Remote monitoring and prognosis of fatigue cracking in steel bridges with acoustic emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Jianguo Peter; Ziehl, Paul; Pollock, Adrian

2011-04-01

Acoustic emission (AE) monitoring is desirable to nondestructively detect fatigue damage in steel bridges. Investigations of the relationship between AE signals and crack growth behavior are of paramount importance prior to the widespread application of passive piezoelectric sensing for monitoring of fatigue crack propagation in steel bridges. Tests have been performed to detect AE from fatigue cracks in A572G50 steel. Noise induced AE signals were filtered based on friction emission tests, loading pattern, and a combined approach involving Swansong II filters and investigation of waveforms. The filtering methods based on friction emission tests and load pattern are of interest to the field evaluation using sparse datasets. The combined approach is suitable for data filtering and interpretation of actual field tests. The pattern recognition program NOESIS (Envirocoustics) was utilized for the evaluation of AE data quality. AE parameters are associated with crack length, crack growth rate, maximum stress intensity and stress intensity range. It is shown that AE hits, counts, absolute energy, and signal strength are able to provide warnings at the critical cracking level where cracking progresses from stage II (stable propagation) to stage III (unstable propagation which may result in failure). Absolute energy rate and signal strength rate may be better than count rate to assess the remaining fatigue life of inservice steel bridges.

Motion of the moonlet in the binary system 243 Ida

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lan, L.; Ni, Y.; Jiang, Y.; Li, J.

2018-02-01

The motion of the moonlet Dactyl in the binary system 243 Ida is investigated in this paper. First, periodic orbits in the vicinity of the primary are calculated, including the orbits around the equilibrium points and large-scale orbits. The Floquet multipliers' topological cases of periodic orbits are calculated to study the orbits' stabilities. During the continuation of the retrograde near-circular orbits near the equatorial plane, two period-doubling bifurcations and one Neimark-Sacker bifurcation occur one by one, leading to two stable regions and two unstable regions. Bifurcations occur at the boundaries of these regions. Periodic orbits in the stable regions are all stable, but in the unstable regions are all unstable. Moreover, many quasi-periodic orbits exist near the equatorial plane. Long-term integration indicates that a particle in a quasi-periodic orbit runs in a space like a tire. Quasi-periodic orbits in different regions have different styles of motion indicated by the Poincare sections. There is the possibility that moonlet Dactyl is in a quasi-periodic orbit near the stable region I, which is enlightening for the stability of the binary system.

Strain Rate Sensitivity of Polymer-Matrix Composites under Mode I delamination

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

unstable growth system requires two values. In reality , the fracture toughness may vary along the length of the specimen due to strain rate effects...18 M. F. Kanninen. An Augmented Double Cantilever Beam Model for Studying Crack Propagation and Arrest. International Journal of Fracture. Vol. 9

Shallow and deep controls on lava lake surface motion at Kīlauea Volcano

USGS Publications Warehouse

Patrick, Matthew R.; Orr, Tim R.; Swanson, Don; Lev, Einat

2016-01-01

Lava lakes provide a rare window into magmatic behavior, and lake surface motion has been used to infer deeper properties of the magmatic system. At Halema'uma'u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, multidisciplinary observations for the past several years indicate that lava lake surface motion can be broadly divided into two regimes: 1) stable and 2) unstable. Stable behavior is driven by lava upwelling from deeper in the lake (presumably directly from the conduit) and is an intrinsic process that drives lava lake surface motion most of the time. This stable behavior can be interrupted by periods of unstable flow (often reversals) driven by spattering – a shallowly-rooted process often extrinsically triggered by small rockfalls from the crater wall. The bursting bubbles at spatter sources create void spaces and a localized surface depression which draws and consumes surrounding surface crust. Spattering is therefore a location of lava downwelling, not upwelling. Stable (i.e. deep, upwelling-driven) and unstable (i.e. shallow, spattering-driven) behavior often alternate through time, have characteristic surface velocities, flow directions and surface temperature regimes, and also correspond to changes in spattering intensity, outgassing rates, lava level and seismic tremor. These results highlight that several processes, originating at different depths, can control the motion of the lava lake surface, and long-term interdisciplinary monitoring is required to separate these influences. These observations indicate that lake surface motion is not always a reliable proxy for deeper lake or magmatic processes. From these observations, we suggest that shallow outgassing (spattering), not lake convection, drives the variations in lake motion reported at Erta 'Ale lava lake.

Shallow and deep controls on lava lake surface motion at Kīlauea Volcano

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patrick, M. R.; Orr, T.; Swanson, D. A.; Lev, E.

2016-12-01

Lava lakes provide a rare window into magmatic behavior, and lake surface motion has been used to infer deeper properties of the magmatic system. At Halema'uma'u Crater, at the summit of Kīlauea Volcano, multidisciplinary observations for the past several years indicate that lava lake surface motion can be broadly divided into two regimes: 1) stable and 2) unstable. Stable behavior is driven by lava upwelling from deeper in the lake (presumably directly from the conduit) and is an intrinsic process that drives lava lake surface motion most of the time. This stable behavior can be interrupted by periods of unstable flow (often reversals) driven by spattering - a shallowly-rooted process often extrinsically triggered by small rockfalls from the crater wall. The bursting bubbles at spatter sources create void spaces and a localized surface depression which draws and consumes surrounding surface crust. Spattering is therefore a location of lava downwelling, not upwelling. Stable (i.e. deep, upwelling-driven) and unstable (i.e. shallow, spattering-driven) behavior often alternate through time, have characteristic surface velocities, flow directions and surface temperature regimes, and also correspond to changes in spattering intensity, outgassing rates, lava level and seismic tremor. These results highlight that several processes, originating at different depths, can control the motion of the lava lake surface, and long-term interdisciplinary monitoring is required to separate these influences. These observations indicate that lake surface motion is not always a reliable proxy for deeper lake or magmatic processes. From these observations, we suggest that shallow outgassing (spattering), not lake convection, drives the variations in lake motion reported at Erta 'Ale lava lake.

Dynamic fracture of inorganic glasses by hard spherical and conical projectiles.

PubMed

Chaudhri, M Munawar

2015-03-28

In this article, high-speed photographic investigations of the dynamic crack initiation and propagation in several inorganic glasses by the impact of small spherical and conical projectiles are described. These were carried out at speeds of up to approximately 2×10(6) frames s(-1). The glasses were fused silica, 'Pyrex' (a borosilicate glass), soda lime and B(2)O(3). The projectiles were 0.8-2 mm diameter spheres of steel, glass, sapphire and tungsten carbide, and their velocities were up to 340 m s(-1). In fused silica and Pyrex, spherical projectiles' impact produced Hertzian cone cracks travelling at terminal crack velocities, whereas in soda-lime glass fast splinter cracks were generated. No crack bifurcation was observed, which has been explained by the nature of the stress intensity factor of the particle-impact-generated cracks, which leads to a stable crack growth. Crack bifurcation was, however, observed in thermally tempered glass; this bifurcation has been explained by the tensile residual stress and the associated unstable crack growth. A new explanation has been proposed for the decrease of the included angle of the Hertzian cone cracks with increasing impact velocity. B(2)O(3) glass showed dynamic compaction and plasticity owing to impact with steel spheres. Other observations, such as total contact time, crack lengths and response to oblique impacts, have also been explained. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Kinematic Effects of Nickel-Titanium Instruments with Reciprocating or Continuous Rotation Motion: A Systematic Review of In Vitro Studies.

PubMed

Ahn, So-Yeon; Kim, Hyeon-Cheol; Kim, Euiseong

2016-07-01

This review aimed to compare the kinematic effect of nickel-titanium instruments with reciprocating and continuous rotation motion for cyclic fatigue resistance, shaping ability, apical debris extrusion, and dentinal defects or cracks. Articles were selected for inclusion in this review if they fulfilled all of the following criteria: described in vitro studies performed on either extracted human teeth or an artificial canal model, assessed both reciprocating and rotary instruments, compared reciprocating files and rotary files for the kinematics of files, and evaluated reciprocating and rotary files regarding the aim of this study. The electronic search was undertaken in MEDLINE, Cochrane database, and manual searches, including journals, reference lists, and other reviews. Twelve studies were chosen for cyclic fatigue, 19 studies for shaping ability, 14 studies for apical debris extrusion, and 13 studies for dentinal defects or cracks. Most of the studies showed that reciprocating motion had a higher resistance to cyclic fatigue. Nine studies from the shaping studies reported less canal transportation by using the reciprocating motion than the continuous rotation. The reciprocating instruments tended to extrude more dentin debris than the continuous rotating instruments, but many of the studies showed conflicting results. In addition, 2 studies from the defects or cracks studies claimed the reciprocating motion produced more dentinal defects than the continuous rotating motion. Instruments with reciprocating motion seemed to have better resistance to cyclic fatigue with less canal transportation tendency than the instruments with continuous rotating motion. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Slow and fast motion of cracks in inelastic solids. Part 1: Slow growth of cracks in a rate sensitive tresca solid. Part 2: Dynamic crack represented by the Dugdale model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wnuk, M. P.; Sih, G. C.

1972-01-01

An extension is proposed of the classical theory of fracture to viscoelastic and elastic-plastic materials in which the plasticity effects are confined to a narrow band encompassing the crack front. It is suggested that the Griffith-Irwin criterion of fracture, which requires that the energy release rate computed for a given boundary value problem equals the critical threshold, ought to be replaced by a differential equation governing the slow growth of a crack prior to the onset of rapid propagation. A new term which enters the equation of motion in the dissipative media is proportional to the energy lost within the end sections of the crack, and thus reflects the extent of inelastic behavior of a solid. A concept of apparent surface energy is introduced to account for the geometry dependent and the rate dependent phenomena which influence toughness of an inelastic solid. Three hypotheses regarding the condition for fracture in the subcritical range of load are compared. These are: (1) constant fracture energy (Cherepanov), (2) constant opening displacement at instability (Morozov) and (3) final stretch criterion (Wnuk).

Acquisition of Inertia by a Moving Crack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goldman, Tamar; Livne, Ariel; Fineberg, Jay

2010-03-01

We experimentally investigate the dynamics of “simple” tensile cracks. Within an effectively infinite medium, a crack’s dynamics perfectly correspond to inertialess behavior predicted by linear elastic fracture mechanics. Once a crack interacts with waves that it generated at earlier times, this description breaks down. Cracks then acquire inertia and sluggishly accelerate. Crack inertia increases with crack speed v and diverges as v approaches its limiting value. We show that these dynamics are in excellent accord with an equation of motion derived in the limit of an infinite strip [M. Marder, Phys. Rev. Lett. 66, 2484 (1991)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.66.2484].

Tracking and Motion Analysis of Crack Propagations in Crystals for Molecular Dynamics

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tsap, L V; Duchaineau, M; Goldgof, D B

2001-05-14

This paper presents a quantitative analysis for a discovery in molecular dynamics. Recent simulations have shown that velocities of crack propagations in crystals under certain conditions can become supersonic, which is contrary to classical physics. In this research, they present a framework for tracking and motion analysis of crack propagations in crystals. It includes line segment extraction based on Canny edge maps, feature selection based on physical properties, and subsequent tracking of primary and secondary wavefronts. This tracking is completely automated; it runs in real time on three 834-image sequences using forty 250 MHZ processors. Results supporting physical observations aremore » presented in terms of both feature tracking and velocity analysis.« less

Simplified moment tensor analysis and unified decomposition of acoustic emission source: Application to in situ hydrofracturing test

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohtsu, Masayasu

1991-04-01

An application of a moment tensor analysis to acoustic emission (AE) is studied to elucidate crack types and orientations of AE sources. In the analysis, simplified treatment is desirable, because hundreds of AE records are obtained from just one experiment and thus sophisticated treatment is realistically cumbersome. Consequently, a moment tensor inversion based on P wave amplitude is employed to determine six independent tensor components. Selecting only P wave portion from the full-space Green's function of homogeneous and isotropic material, a computer code named SiGMA (simplified Green's functions for the moment tensor analysis) is developed for the AE inversion analysis. To classify crack type and to determine crack orientation from moment tensor components, a unified decomposition of eigenvalues into a double-couple (DC) part, a compensated linear vector dipole (CLVD) part, and an isotropic part is proposed. The aim of the decomposition is to determine the proportion of shear contribution (DC) and tensile contribution (CLVD + isotropic) on AE sources and to classify cracks into a crack type of the dominant motion. Crack orientations determined from eigenvectors are presented as crack-opening vectors for tensile cracks and fault motion vectors for shear cracks, instead of stereonets. The SiGMA inversion and the unified decomposition are applied to synthetic data and AE waveforms detected during an in situ hydrofracturing test. To check the accuracy of the procedure, numerical experiments are performed on the synthetic waveforms, including cases with 10% random noise added. Results show reasonable agreement with assumed crack configurations. Although the maximum error is approximately 10% with respect to the ratios, the differences on crack orientations are less than 7°. AE waveforms detected by eight accelerometers deployed during the hydrofracturing test are analyzed. Crack types and orientations determined are in reasonable agreement with a predicted failure plane from borehole TV observation. The results suggest that tensile cracks are generated first at weak seams and then shear cracks follow on the opened joints.

Cadaveric study of movement in the unstable upper cervical spine during emergency management: tracheal intubation and cervical spine immobilisation—a study protocol for a prospective randomised crossover trial

PubMed Central

Popp, Erik; Hüttlin, Petra; Weilbacher, Frank; Münzberg, Matthias; Schneider, Niko; Kreinest, Michael

2017-01-01

Introduction Emergency management of upper cervical spine injuries often requires cervical spine immobilisation and some critical patients also require airway management. The movement of cervical spine created by tracheal intubation and cervical spine immobilisation can potentially exacerbate cervical spinal cord injury. However, the evidence that previous studies have provided remains unclear, due to lack of a direct measurement technique for dural sac's space during dynamic processes. Our study will use myelography method and a wireless human motion tracker to characterise and compare the change of dural sac's space during tracheal intubations and cervical spine immobilisation in the presence of unstable upper cervical spine injury such as atlanto-occipital dislocation or type II odontoid fracture. Methods and analysis Perform laryngoscopy and intubation, video laryngoscope intubation, laryngeal tube insertion, fiberoptic intubation and cervical collar application on cadaveric models of unstable upper cervical spine injury such as atlanto-occipital dislocation or type II odontoid fracture. The change of dural sac's space and the motion of unstable cervical segment are recorded by video fluoroscopy with previously performing myelography, which enables us to directly measure dural sac's space. Simultaneously, the whole cervical spine motion is recorded at a wireless human motion tracker. The maximum dural sac compression and the maximum angulation and distraction of the injured segment are measured by reviewing fluoroscopic and myelography images. Ethics and dissemination This study protocol has been approved by the Ethics Committee of the State Medical Association Rhineland-Palatinate, Mainz, Germany. The results will be published in relevant emergency journals and presented at relevant conferences. Trial registration number DRKS00010499. PMID:28864483

Comparison of Intralaminar and Interlaminar Mode-I Fracture Toughness of Unidirectional IM7/8552 Graphite/Epoxy Composite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Czabaj, Michael W.; Ratcliffe, James

2012-01-01

The intralaminar and interlaminar mode-I fracture-toughness of a unidirectional IM7/8552 graphite/epoxy composite were measured using compact tension (CT) and double cantilever beam (DCB) test specimens, respectively. Two starter crack geometries were considered for both the CT and DCB specimen configurations. In the first case, starter cracks were produced by 12.5 micron thick, Teflon film inserts. In the second case, considerably sharper starter cracks were produced by fatigue precracking. For each specimen configuration, use of the Teflon film starter cracks resulted in initially unstable crack growth and artificially high initiation fracture-toughness values. Conversely, specimens with fatigue precracks exhibited stable growth onset and lower initiation fracture toughness. For CT and DCB specimens with fatigue precracks, the intralaminar and interlaminar initiation fracture toughnesses were approximately equal. However, during propagation, the CT specimens exhibited more extensive fiber bridging, and rapidly increasing R-curve behavior as compared to the DCB specimens. Observations of initiation and propagation of intralaminar and interlaminar fracture, and the measurements of fracture toughness, were supported by fractographic analysis using scanning electron microscopy.

Fracture mechanics modeling of popping event during daughter cell separation.

PubMed

Jiang, Yuxuan; Liang, Xudong; Guo, Ming; Cao, Yanping; Cai, Shengqiang

2018-05-10

Most bacteria cells divide by binary fission which is part of a bacteria cell cycle and requires tight regulations and precise coordination. Fast separation of Staphylococcus Aureus (S. Aureus) daughter cells, named as popping event, has been observed in recent experiments. The popping event was proposed to be driven by mechanical crack propagation in the peripheral ring which connected two daughter cells before their separation. It has also been shown that after the fast separation, a small portion of the peripheral ring was left as a hinge. In the article, we develop a fracture mechanics model for the crack growth in the peripheral ring during S. Aureus daughter cell separation. In particular, using finite element analysis, we calculate the energy release rate associated with the crack growth in the peripheral ring, when daughter cells are inflated by a uniform turgor pressure inside. Our results show that with a fixed inflation of daughter cells, the energy release rate depends on the crack length non-monotonically. The energy release rate reaches a maximum value for a crack of an intermediate length. The non-monotonic relationship between the energy release rate and crack length clearly indicates that the crack propagation in the peripheral ring can be unstable. The computed energy release rate as a function of crack length can also be used to explain the existence of a small portion of peripheral ring remained as hinge after the popping event.

Analysis of delamination in cross-ply laminates initiating from impact induced matrix cracking

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salpekar, S. A.

1993-01-01

Two-dimensional finite element analyses of (02/90(8)/02) glass/epoxy and graphite/epoxy composite laminates were performed to investigate some of the characteristics of damage development due to an impact load. A cross section through the thickness of the laminate with fixed ends, and carrying a transverse load in the center, was analyzed. Inclined matrix cracks, such as those produced by a low-velocity impact, were modeled in the 90 deg ply group. The introduction of the matrix cracks caused large interlaminar tensile and shear stresses in the vicinity of both crack tips in the 0/90 and 90/0 interfaces, indicating that matrix cracking may give rise to delamination. The ratio of Mode I to total strain energy release rate, G(I)/G(total), at the beginning of delamination, calculated at the two (top and bottom) matrix crack tips was 60 and 28 percent, respectively, in the glass/epoxy laminate. The corresponding ratio was 97 and 77 percent in the graphite/epoxy laminate. Thus, a significant Mode I component of strain energy release rate may be present at the delamination initiation due to an impact load. The value of strain energy release rate at either crack tip increased due to an increase in the delamination length at the other crack tip and may give rise to an unstable delamination growth under constant load.

Concrete Behavior under Dynamic Tensile-Compressive Load.

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-01-01

be reviewed as well. Although structural concrete does not possess the thermal cracking problems during curing to the extent that mass concrete does...reasonable bounds for these unknown properties were assumed, suggests that the extent of cracking induced by seismic ground motion can be very...space. But an understanding of biaxial tension-compression be- havior is the foremost concern, since the stress state of a dam’s cracked regions occur in

Simple models of the hydrofracture process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marder, M.; Chen, Chih-Hung; Patzek, T.

2015-12-01

Hydrofracturing to recover natural gas and oil relies on the creation of a fracture network with pressurized water. We analyze the creation of the network in two ways. First, we assemble a collection of analytical estimates for pressure-driven crack motion in simple geometries, including crack speed as a function of length, energy dissipated by fluid viscosity and used to break rock, and the conditions under which a second crack will initiate while a first is running. We develop a pseudo-three-dimensional numerical model that couples fluid motion with solid mechanics and can generate branching crack structures not specified in advance. One of our main conclusions is that the typical spacing between fractures must be on the order of a meter, and this conclusion arises in two separate ways. First, it arises from analysis of gas production rates, given the diffusion constants for gas in the rock. Second, it arises from the number of fractures that should be generated given the scale of the affected region and the amounts of water pumped into the rock.

A Study of Failure in Small Pressurized Cylindrical Shells Containing a Crack

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barwell, Craig A.; Eber, Lorenz; Fyfe, Ian M.

1998-01-01

The deformation in the vicinity of axial cracks in thin pressurized cylinders is examined using small experimental The deformation in the vicinity of axial cracks in thin pressurized cylinders is examined using small experimental models. The loading applied was either symmetric or unsymmetric about the crack plane, the latter being caused by structural constraints such as stringers. The objective was two fold - one, to provide the experimental results which will allow computer modeling techniques to be evaluated for deformations that are significantly different from that experienced by flat plates, and the other to examine the deformations and conditions associated with the onset of crack kinking which often precedes crack curving. The stresses which control crack growth in a cylindrical geometry depend on conditions introduced by the axial bulging, which is an integral part of this type of failure. For the symmetric geometry, both the hoop and radial strain just ahead off the crack, r = a, were measured and these results compared with those obtained from a variety of structural analysis codes, in particular STAGS [1], ABAQUS and ANSYS. In addition to these measurements, the pressures at the onset of stable and unstable crack growth were obtained and the corresponding crack deformations measured as the pressures were increased to failure. For the unsymmetric cases, measurements were taken of the crack kinking angle, and the displacements in the vicinity of the crack. In general, the strains ahead of the crack showed good agreement between the three computer codes and between the codes and the experiments. In the case of crack behavior, it was determined that modeling stable tearing with a crack-tip opening displacement fracture criterion could be successfully combined with the finite-element analysis techniques as used in structural analysis codes. The analytic results obtained in this study were very compatible with the experimental observations of crack growth. Measured crack kinking angles also showed good agreement with theories based on the maximum principle stress criterion.

Does the novel lateral trauma position cause more motion in an unstable cervical spine injury than the logroll maneuver?

PubMed

Hyldmo, Per Kristian; Horodyski, MaryBeth; Conrad, Bryan P; Aslaksen, Sindre; Røislien, Jo; Prasarn, Mark; Rechtine, Glenn R; Søreide, Eldar

2017-11-01

Prehospital personnel who lack advanced airway management training must rely on basic techniques when transporting unconscious trauma patients. The supine position is associated with a loss of airway patency when compared to lateral recumbent positions. Thus, an inherent conflict exists between securing an open airway using the recovery position and maintaining spinal immobilization in the supine position. The lateral trauma position is a novel technique that aims to combine airway management with spinal precautions. The objective of this study was to compare the spinal motion allowed by the novel lateral trauma position and the well-established log-roll maneuver. Using a full-body cadaver model with an induced globally unstable cervical spine (C5-C6) lesion, we investigated the mean range of motion (ROM) produced at the site of the injury in six dimensions by performing the two maneuvers using an electromagnetic tracking device. Compared to the log-roll maneuver, the lateral trauma position caused similar mean ROM in five of the six dimensions. Only medial/lateral linear motion was significantly greater in the lateral trauma position (1.4mm (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.4, 2.4mm)). In this cadaver study, the novel lateral trauma position and the well-established log-roll maneuver resulted in comparable amounts of motion in an unstable cervical spine injury model. We suggest that the lateral trauma position may be considered for unconscious non-intubated trauma patients. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Motion state analysis of space target based on optical cross section

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Qichen; Li, Zhi; Xu, Can; Liu, Chenghao

2017-10-01

In order to solve the problem that the movement state analysis method of the space target based on OCS is not related to the real motion state. This paper proposes a method based on OCS for analyzing the state of space target motion. This paper first establish a three-dimensional model of real STSS satellite, then change the satellite's surface into element, and assign material to each panel according to the actual conditions of the satellite. This paper set up a motion scene according to the orbit parameters of STSS satellite in STK, and the motion states are set to three axis steady state and slowly rotating unstable state respectively. In these two states, the occlusion condition of the surface element is firstly determined, and the effective face element is selected. Then, the coordinates of the observation station and the solar coordinates in the satellite body coordinate system are input into the OCS calculation program, and the OCS variation curves of the three axis steady state and the slow rotating unstable state STSS satellite are obtained. Combining the satellite surface structure and the load situation, the OCS change curve of the three axis stabilized satellite is analyzed, and the conclude that the OCS curve fluctuates up and down when the sunlight is irradiated to the load area; By using Spectral analysis method, autocorrelation analysis and the cross residual method, the rotation speed of OCS satellite in slow rotating unstable state is analyzed, and the rotation speed of satellite is successfully reversed. By comparing the three methods, it is found that the cross residual method is more accurate.

Fracture behavior of human molars.

PubMed

Keown, Amanda J; Lee, James J-W; Bush, Mark B

2012-12-01

Despite the durability of human teeth, which are able to withstand repeated loading while maintaining form and function, they are still susceptible to fracture. We focus here on longitudinal fracture in molar teeth-channel-like cracks that run along the enamel sidewall of the tooth between the gum line (cemento-enamel junction-CEJ) and the occlusal surface. Such fractures can often be painful and necessitate costly restorative work. The following study describes fracture experiments made on molar teeth of humans in which the molars are placed under axial compressive load using a hard indenting plate in order to induce longitudinal cracks in the enamel. Observed damage modes include fractures originating in the occlusal region ('radial-median cracks') and fractures emanating from the margin of the enamel in the region of the CEJ ('margin cracks'), as well as 'spalling' of enamel (the linking of longitudinal cracks). The loading conditions that govern fracture behavior in enamel are reported and observations made of the evolution of fracture as the load is increased. Relatively low loads were required to induce observable crack initiation-approximately 100 N for radial-median cracks and 200 N for margin cracks-both of which are less than the reported maximum biting force on a single molar tooth of several hundred Newtons. Unstable crack growth was observed to take place soon after and occurred at loads lower than those calculated by the current fracture models. Multiple cracks were observed on a single cusp, their interactions influencing crack growth behavior. The majority of the teeth tested in this study were noted to exhibit margin cracks prior to compression testing, which were apparently formed during the functional lifetime of the tooth. Such teeth were still able to withstand additional loading prior to catastrophic fracture, highlighting the remarkable damage containment capabilities of the natural tooth structure.

Grain fracture model and its application to strength evaluation in engineering ceramics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoshide, Toshihiko

1993-02-01

A new model of cracking process in ceramics is developed assuming the fracture of the grain just ahead of a flaw, such as a crack or a notch, during the loading process, prior to the final unstable fracture. Based on the grain fracture model, a simulation was carried out to explain the anomalous behavior of small flaws and the notch width effect, which were reported by Evans and Langdon (1976) and Hoshide et al. (1984) and by Bertolotti (1973) and Pabst et al. (1982), respectively. It is shown that the analytical relations of the new model can explain the experimental results for both situations.

Numerical Assessment of Rockbursting.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-05-27

static equilibrium, nonlinear elasticity, strain-softening • material , unstable propagation of pre-existing cracks , and finally - surface...structure of LINOS, which is common to most of the large finite element codes, the library of element and material subroutines can be easily expanded... material model subroutines , are tested by comparing finite element results with analytical or numerical results derived for hypo-elastic and

Flow and Fracture in Drying Nanoparticle Suspensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dufresne, E. R.; Corwin, E. I.; Greenblatt, N. A.; Ashmore, J.; Wang, D. Y.; Dinsmore, A. D.; Cheng, J. X.; Xie, X. S.; Hutchinson, J. W.; Weitz, D. A.

2003-11-01

Drying aqueous suspensions of monodisperse silica nanoparticles can fracture in remarkable patterns. As the material solidifies, evenly spaced cracks invade from the drying surface, with individual cracks undergoing intermittent motion. We show that the growth of cracks is limited by the advancement of the compaction front, which is governed by a balance of evaporation and flow of fluid at the drying surface. Surprisingly, the macroscopic dynamics of drying show signatures of molecular-scale fluid effects.

On stability and turbulence of fluid flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heisenberg, Werner

1951-01-01

This investigation is divided into two parts, the treatment of the stability problem of fluid flows on the one hand, and that of the turbulent motion on the other. The first part summarizes all previous investigations under a unified point of view, that is, sets up as generally as possible the conditions under which a profile possesses unstable or stable characteristics, and indicates the methods for solution of the stability equation for any arbitrary velocity profile and for calculation of the critical Reynolds number for unstable profiles. In the second part, under certain greatly idealizing assumptions, differential equations for the turbulent motions are derived and from them qualitative information about several properties of the turbulent velocity distribution is obtained.

EFFECTS OF MINERAL CONTENT ON THE FRACTURE PROPERTIES OF EQUINE CORTICAL BONE IN DOUBLE-NOTCHED BEAMS

PubMed Central

McCormack, Jordan; Stover, Susan M.; Gibeling, Jeffery C.; Fyhrie, David P.

2012-01-01

We recently developed a method to measure cortical bone fracture initiation toughness using a double-notched beam in four-point bending. This method was used to test the hypothesis that mineralization around the two notch roots is correlated with fracture toughness and crack extension (physical damage). Total energy absorbed to failure negatively correlated with average mineralization of the beam (r2=0.62), but not with notch root mineralization. Fracture initiation toughness was positively correlated to mineralization at the broken notch root (r2=0.34). Crack length extension at the unbroken notch was strongly negatively correlated with the average mineralization of the notch roots (r2=0.81) whereas crack length extension at the broken notch did not correlate with any of the mineralization measurements. Mineralization at the notch roots and the average mineralization contributed independently to the mechanical and damage properties. The data are consistent with an hypothesis that a) high notch root mineralization results in less stable crack length extension but high force to initiate unstable crack propagation while b) higher average mineralization leads to low post-yield (and total) energy absorption to failure. PMID:22394589

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tanaka, T.; Shimizu, S.; Ogata, Y.

For the primary coolant piping of PWRs in Japan, cast duplex stainless steel which is excellent in terms of strength, corrosion resistance, and weldability has conventionally been used. The cast duplex stainless steel contains the ferrite phase in the austenite matrix and thermal aging after long term service is known to change its material characteristics. It is considered appropriate to apply the methodology of elastic plastic fracture mechanics for an evaluation of the integrity of the primary coolant piping after thermal aging. Therefore we evaluated the integrity of the primary coolant piping for an initial PWR plant in Japan bymore » means of elastic plastic fracture mechanics. The evaluation results show that the crack will not grow into an unstable fracture and the integrity of the piping will be secured, even when such through wall crack length is assumed to equal the fatigue crack growth length for a service period of up to 60 years.« less

Ductile fracture theories for pressurised pipes and containers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Erdogan, F.

1976-01-01

Two mechanisms of fracture are distinguished. Plane strain fractures occur in materials which do not undergo large-scale plastic deformations prior to and during a possible fracture deformation. Plane stress or high energy fractures are generally accompanied by large inelastic deformations. Theories for analyzing plane stress are based on the concepts of critical crack opening stretch, K(R) characterization, J-integral, and plastic instability. This last is considered in some detail. The ductile fracture process involves fracture initiation followed by a stable crack growth and the onset of unstable fracture propagation. The ductile fracture propagation process may be characterized by either a multiparameter (discrete) model, or some type of a resistance curve which may be considered as a continuous model expressed graphically. These models are studied and an alternative model is also proposed for ductile fractures which cannot be modeled as progressive crack growth phenomena.

Typical motions in multiple systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anosova, Joanna P.

1990-01-01

In very old times, people counted - one, two, many. The author wants to show that they were right. Consider the motions of isolated bodies: (1) N = 1 - simple motion; (2) N = 2 - Keplerian orbits; and (3) N = 3 - this is the difficult problem. In general, this problem can be studied only by computer simulations. The author studied this problem over many years (see, e.g., Agekian and Anosova, 1967; Anosova, 1986, 1989 a,b). The principal result is that two basic types of dynamics take place in triple systems. The first special type is the stable hierarchical systems with two almost Keplerian orbits. The second general type is the unstable triple systems with complicated motions of the bodies. By random choice of the initial conditions, by the Monte-Carlo method, the stable systems comprised about approx. 10% of the examined cases; the unstable systems comprised the other approx. 90% of cases under consideration. In N greater than 3, the studies of dynamics of such systems by computer simulations show that we have in general also the motions roughly as at the cases 1 - 3 with the relative negative or positive energies of the bodies. In the author's picture, the typical trajectories of the bodies in unstable triple systems of the general type of dynamics are seen. Such systems are disrupted always after close triple approaches of the bodies. These approaches play a role like the gravitational slingshot. Often, the velocities of escapers are very large. On the other hand, the movie also shows the dynamical processes of a formation, dynamical evolution and disruption of the temporary wide binaries in triples and a formation of final hard massive binaries in the final evolution of triples.

Slope instability related to permafrost changes on Mexican volcanoes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delgado Granados, Hugo; Molina, Victor Soto

2015-04-01

Permafrost is present above 4,500 meters at the three highest Mexican mountains, Citlaltépetl, Popocatépetl and Iztaccihuatl (5,675, 5,452 and 5,286m asl, respectively), all active volcanoes. During the rainy season in the central region of Mexico, the occurrence of small debris-flows in the ice-free parts of the mountains, as well as small lanslides is frequent. At Popocatépetl volcano, flows are mostly related to a combination of the eruptive activity and climatic factors. However, the volcanic activity is different at Citlaltépetl and Iztaccihuatl where there is no eruptive activity, but landslides have occurred in recent years on their steep slopes because its stability has been altered as a result of an increase in the air temperature which in turn has caused variations in the thickness of the active layer of permafrost, causing as a consequence, the increase of an even more unstable soil. Additionally, cracks in the rock walls are subject to an increasing hydrostatic pressure due to continuous daily freezing and thawing of seasonal water produced by a warmer and less solid precipitation accumulating in the cracks over time and in the unconsolidated potentially unstable material.

A Null Space Control of Two Wheels Driven Mobile Manipulator Using Passivity Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shibata, Tsuyoshi; Murakami, Toshiyuki

This paper describes a control strategy of null space motion of a two wheels driven mobile manipulator. Recently, robot is utilized in various industrial fields and it is preferable for the robot manipulator to have multiple degrees of freedom motion. Several studies of kinematics for null space motion have been proposed. However stability analysis of null space motion is not enough. Furthermore, these approaches apply to stable systems, but they do not apply unstable systems. Then, in this research, base of manipulator equips with two wheels driven mobile robot. This robot is called two wheels driven mobile manipulator, which becomes unstable system. In the proposed approach, a control design of null space uses passivity based stabilizing. A proposed controller is decided so that closed-loop system of robot dynamics satisfies passivity. This is passivity based control. Then, control strategy is that stabilizing of the robot system applies to work space observer based approach and null space control while keeping end-effector position. The validity of the proposed approach is verified by simulations and experiments of two wheels driven mobile manipulator.

Experimental Investigation of the Resistance Performance and Heave and Pitch Motions of Ice-Going Container Ship Under Pack Ice Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Chun-yu; Xie, Chang; Zhang, Jin-zhao; Wang, Shuai; Zhao, Da-gang

2018-04-01

In order to analyze the ice-going ship's performance under the pack ice conditions, synthetic ice was introduced into a towing tank. A barrier using floating cylinder in the towing tank was designed to carry out the resistance experiment. The test results indicated that the encountering frequency between the ship model and the pack ice shifts towards a high-velocity point as the concentration of the pack ice increases, and this encountering frequency creates an unstable region of the resistance, and the unstable region shifts to the higher speed with the increasing concentration. The results also showed that for the same speed points, the ratio of the pack ice resistance to the open water resistance increases with the increasing concentration, and for the same concentrations, this ratio decreases as the speed increases. Motion characteristics showed that the mean value of the heave motion increases as the speed increases, and the pitch motion tends to increase with the increasing speed. In addition, the total resistance of the fullscale was predicted.

Experimental study of HgCdTe imaging sensor irradiated by pulse CO2 laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Xi; Wang, Qingsheng; Hu, Hongtao; Fang, Xiaodong; Nie, Jinsong

2016-10-01

The damages of TEA-CO2 laser to HgCdTe imaging sensor are researched experimentally and theoretically. The shadows, cracks and dark line are observed. There is a gap between photosensitive layer and CdZnTe which decreases light transmittance, so that the shadows occur. It shows that the crack damages begin from photosensitive layer. The sensor is irradiated by pulse laser, the absorptivity of photosensitive layer is strong, sharp temperatures fluctuations inside the sensor, leading to stress. With the stress increased, the cracks are observed on the surface of the detector. Cracked the surface of the substrate, and effective transmission reduced, which caused gray pixel response decline. The dark line in image occurs several times because Hg atoms separate out from the detector and gather together at the Si-COMS which makes a short circuit between silicon substrate and signal choice line. The volatility of Hg makes the short circuit is unstable, resulting in the dark line repeated in the output image, but the short circuit occurs by chance.

Passive magnetic bearing systems stabilizer/bearing utilizing time-averaging of a periodic magnetic field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Post, Richard F.

A high-stiffness stabilizer/bearings for passive magnetic bearing systems is provide where the key to its operation resides in the fact that when the frequency of variation of the repelling forces of the periodic magnet array is large compared to the reciprocal of the growth time of the unstable motion, the rotating system will feel only the time-averaged value of the force. When the time-averaged value of the force is radially repelling by the choice of the geometry of the periodic magnet array, the Earnshaw-related unstable hit motion that would occur at zero rotational speed is suppressed when the system ismore » rotating at operating speeds.« less

Role of fiber-stitching in eliminating transverse fracture in cross-ply ceramic composites

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lu, T.J.; Hutchinson, J.W.

1995-12-31

A theoretical study of the feasibility of using fiber stitching to prevent transverse matrix cracking in cross-ply ceramic composites is first reported. The prototype problem solved is a curved composite beam subject to pure bending (the C-specimen), which develops a transverse tensile stress Go acting across its circumferential mid-plane. This transverse stress is cause for concern if the beam is unstitched since there is no mechanism to arrest a matrix crack once one becomes critical. Fiber stitches normal to this plane are introduced to bridge a circumferential matrix crack lying along the mid-plane of the specimen. Results are presented formore » the energy release rate of this matrix crack as a function of a nondimensional parameter characterizing the density and fiber sliding stress of the fiber stitches. A parameter is identified which assures the applicability of the classical ACK (Aveston, Cooper and Kelly) limit for a steady-state matrix crack subject to {sigma}{sub 0}. The results obtained can be used to choose the level of stitching such that transverse matrix cracking will be excluded. The second problem we address is thermal delamination in a cross-ply ceramic composite plate due to high temperature gradients applied in the thickness direction. It is shown that a preexistent crack with a size of the order of the plate thickness will propagate unstably when a moderately large through-thickness temperature gradient is enforced. The possibility of using cross-fiber stitches to suppress thermal delamination cracking is discussed.« less

The crack effect on instability in a machine tool spindle with gas bearings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Bo-Wun

2005-09-01

Gas-bearing spindles are required for increased spindle speed in precise machining. Due to manufacturing flaws or cyclic loading, cracks frequently appear in a rotating spindle systems. Cracks markedly affect the dynamic characteristics of rotating machinery. Hence, in this study, high-speed spindles with gas bearings and the crack effect on the instability dynamics are considered. Most investigations on dynamic characteristics of the spindle system were confined to ball-bearing-type spindles. This work examines the dynamic instability in a cracked rotating spindle system with gas bearings. A round Euler-Bernoulli beam is used to approximate the spindle. The Hamilton principle is applied to derive the equation of motion for the spindle system. The effects of crack depth, rotation speed and provided air pressure on the dynamic instability of a rotating spindle system are studied

Desiccation of a Sessile Drop of Blood: Cracks Formation and Delamination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobac, Benjamin; Brutin, David

2011-11-01

The evaporation of drops of biological fluids has been studied since few years du to several applications in medical fields such as medical tests, drug screening, biostabilization... The evaporation of a drop of whole blood leads to the formation of final typical pattern of cracks. Flow motion, adhesion, gelation and fracturation all occur during the evaporation of this complex matter. During the drying, a sol-gel transition develops. The drying kinetics is explained by a simple model of evaporation taking account of the evolution of the gelation front. The system solidifies and when stresses are too important, cracks nucleate. The cracks formation and the structure of the crack pattern are investigated. The initial crack spacing is found in good agreement with the implementation in open geometry of the model of cracks formation induced by evaporation proposed by Allain and Limat. Finally, the drop is still drying after the end of the formation of cracks which leads, like in the situation of colloid suspensions, to the observation of a delamination phenomenon.

Studies of human dynamic space orientation using techniques of control theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, L. R.

1974-01-01

Studies of human orientation and manual control in high order systems are summarized. Data cover techniques for measuring and altering orientation perception, role of non-visual motion sensors, particularly the vestibular and tactile sensors, use of motion cues in closed loop control of simple stable and unstable systems, and advanced computer controlled display systems.

Detecting unstable periodic orbits in chaotic time series using synchronization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olyaei, Ali Azimi; Wu, Christine; Kinsner, Witold

2017-07-01

An alternative approach of detecting unstable periodic orbits in chaotic time series is proposed using synchronization techniques. A master-slave synchronization scheme is developed, in which the chaotic system drives a system of harmonic oscillators through a proper coupling condition. The proposed scheme is designed so that the power of the coupling signal exhibits notches that drop to zero once the system approaches an unstable orbit yielding an explicit indication of the presence of a periodic motion. The results shows that the proposed approach is particularly suitable in practical situations, where the time series is short and noisy, or it is obtained from high-dimensional chaotic systems.

Engineering Evaluation of International Low Impact Docking System Latch Hooks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martinez, J.; Patin, R.; Figert, J.

2013-01-01

The international Low Impact Docking System (iLIDS) provides a structural arrangement that allows for visiting vehicles to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) (Fig 1). The iLIDS docking units are mechanically joined together by a series of active and passive latch hooks. In order to preserve docking capability at the existing Russian docking interfaces, the iLIDS latch hooks are required to conform to the existing Russian design. The latch hooks are classified as being fail-safe. Since the latch hooks are fail-safe, the hooks are not fracture critical and a fatigue based service life assessment will satisfy the structural integrity requirements. Constant amplitude fatigue testing to failure on four sets of active/passive iLIDS latch hooks was performed at load magnitudes of 10, 11, and 12 kips. Failure analysis of the hook fatigue failures identified multi-site fatigue initiation that was effectively centered about the hook mid-plane (consistent with the 3D model results). The fatigue crack initiation distribution implies that the fatigue damage accumulation effectively results in a very low aspect ratio surface crack (which can be simulated as thru-thickness crack). Fatigue damage progression resulted in numerous close proximity fatigue crack initiation sites. It was not possible to determine if fatigue crack coalescence occurs during cyclic loading or as result of the fast fracture response. The presence of multiple fatigue crack initiation sites on different planes will result in the formation of ratchet marks as the cracks coalesce. Once the stable fatigue crack becomes unstable and the fast fracture advances across the remaining ligament and the plane stress condition at a free-surface will result in failure along a 45 deg. shear plane (slant fracture) and the resulting inclined edge is called a shear lip. The hook thickness on the plane of fatigue crack initiation is 0.787". The distance between the shear lips on this plane was on the order of 0.48" and it was effectively centered about the mid-plane of the section. The numerous ratchet marks between the shear lips on the fracture initiation plane are indicative of multiple fatigue initiation sites within this region. The distribution of the fatigue damage about the centerline of the hook is consistent with the analytical results that demonstrate peak stress/strain response at the mid-plane that decreases in the direction of the hook outer surfaces. Scanning electron microscope images of the failed sections detected fatigue crack striations in close proximity to the free surface of the hook radius. These findings were documented at three locations on the fracture surface : 1) adjacent to the left shear lip, 2) adjacent to the right shear lip, and 3) near the centerline of the section. The features of the titanium fracture surface did not allow for a determination of a critical crack size via identification of the region where the fatigue crack propagation became unstable. The fracture based service life projections where benchmarked with strain-life analyses. The strainrange response in the hook radius was defined via the correlated finite element models and the modified method of universal slopes was incorporated to define the strain-life equation for the titanium alloy. The strain-life assessment confirmed that the fracture based projections were reasonable for the loading range of interest. Based upon the analysis and component level fatigue test data a preliminary service life capability for the iLIDS active and passive hooks of 2 lifetimes is projected (includes a scatter factor of 4).

The Vestibular System and Human Dynamic Space Orientation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meiry, J. L.

1966-01-01

The motion sensors of the vestibular system are studied to determine their role in human dynamic space orientation and manual vehicle control. The investigation yielded control models for the sensors, descriptions of the subsystems for eye stabilization, and demonstrations of the effects of motion cues on closed loop manual control. Experiments on the abilities of subjects to perceive a variety of linear motions provided data on the dynamic characteristics of the otoliths, the linear motion sensors. Angular acceleration threshold measurements supplemented knowledge of the semicircular canals, the angular motion sensors. Mathematical models are presented to describe the known control characteristics of the vestibular sensors, relating subjective perception of motion to objective motion of a vehicle. The vestibular system, the neck rotation proprioceptors and the visual system form part of the control system which maintains the eye stationary relative to a target or a reference. The contribution of each of these systems was identified through experiments involving head and body rotations about a vertical axis. Compensatory eye movements in response to neck rotation were demonstrated and their dynamic characteristics described by a lag-lead model. The eye motions attributable to neck rotations and vestibular stimulation obey superposition when both systems are active. Human operator compensatory tracking is investigated in simple vehicle orientation control system with stable and unstable controlled elements. Control of vehicle orientation to a reference is simulated in three modes: visual, motion and combined. Motion cues sensed by the vestibular system through tactile sensation enable the operator to generate more lead compensation than in fixed base simulation with only visual input. The tracking performance of the human in an unstable control system near the limits of controllability is shown to depend heavily upon the rate information provided by the vestibular sensors.

Parametrically excited helicopter ground resonance dynamics with high blade asymmetries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanches, L.; Michon, G.; Berlioz, A.; Alazard, D.

2012-07-01

The present work is aimed at verifying the influence of high asymmetries in the variation of in-plane lead-lag stiffness of one blade on the ground resonance phenomenon in helicopters. The periodical equations of motions are analyzed by using Floquet's Theory (FM) and the boundaries of instabilities predicted. The stability chart obtained as a function of asymmetry parameters and rotor speed reveals a complex evolution of critical zones and the existence of bifurcation points at low rotor speed values. Additionally, it is known that when treated as parametric excitations; periodic terms may cause parametric resonances in dynamic systems, some of which can become unstable. Therefore, the helicopter is later considered as a parametrically excited system and the equations are treated analytically by applying the Method of Multiple Scales (MMS). A stability analysis is used to verify the existence of unstable parametric resonances with first and second-order sets of equations. The results are compared and validated with those obtained by Floquet's Theory. Moreover, an explanation is given for the presence of unstable motion at low rotor speeds due to parametric instabilities of the second order.

Impact initiation of explosives and propellants via statistical crack mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dienes, J. K.; Zuo, Q. H.; Kershner, J. D.

2006-06-01

A statistical approach has been developed for modeling the dynamic response of brittle materials by superimposing the effects of a myriad of microcracks, including opening, shear, growth and coalescence, taking as a starting point the well-established theory of penny-shaped cracks. This paper discusses the general approach, but in particular an application to the sensitivity of explosives and propellants, which often contain brittle constituents. We examine the hypothesis that the intense heating by frictional sliding between the faces of a closed crack during unstable growth can form a hot spot, causing localized melting, ignition, and fast burn of the reactive material adjacent to the crack. Opening and growth of a closed crack due to the pressure of burned gases inside the crack and interactions of adjacent cracks can lead to violent reaction, with detonation as a possible consequence. This approach was used to model a multiple-shock experiment by Mulford et al. [1993. Initiation of preshocked high explosives PBX-9404, PBX-9502, PBX-9501, monitored with in-material magnetic gauging. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Detonation Symposium, pp. 459-467] involving initiation and subsequent quenching of chemical reactions in a slab of PBX 9501 impacted by a two-material flyer plate. We examine the effects of crack orientation and temperature dependence of viscosity of the melt on the response. Numerical results confirm our theoretical finding [Zuo, Q.H., Dienes, J.K., 2005. On the stability of penny-shaped cracks with friction: the five types of brittle behavior. Int. J. Solids Struct. 42, 1309-1326] that crack orientation has a significant effect on brittle behavior, especially under compressive loading where interfacial friction plays an important role. With a reasonable choice of crack orientation and a temperature-dependent viscosity obtained from molecular dynamics calculations, the calculated particle velocities compare well with those measured using embedded velocity gauges.

Counter-intuitive quasi-periodic motion in the autonomous vibration of cracked Timoshenko beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brandon, J. A.; Abraham, O. N. L.

1995-08-01

The time domain behaviour of a cracked Timoshenko beam is constructed by alternation of two linear models corresponding to the open and closed condition of the crack. It might be expected that a response which is composed of the alternation of two systems with different properties would extinguish the periodicities of the constituent sub-models. The numerical studies presented illustrate the perpetuation of these features without showing any evidence for the creation of periodicities based on a common assumption of the mean period of a bilinear model.

Intrinsically higher fatigue cracking resistance of the penetrable and movable incoherent twin boundary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, L. L.; Zhang, P.; Zhang, Z. J.; Zhang, Z. F.

2014-01-01

Incoherent twin boundaries (ITBs) are widespread and play a crucial role in unidirectional deformation behavior of materials, however, the intrinsic role of individual ITB under cyclic loading remains elusive. Here we show the fatigue cracking behavior of Cu bicrystal with an ITB as its sole interface for the first time. The slip bands (SBs) could transfer through the ITB; meanwhile, the ITB could migrate with the motion of partial dislocations. Both the penetrability and mobility contribute to the higher fatigue cracking resistance of the ITB and hence the fatigue crack nucleates along the SBs preferentially. These new findings not only shed light on the fatigue cracking mechanisms of a penetrable boundary with direct evidence but also could provide important implications for future interfacial optimization of metallic materials.

Local approach to fatigue based on energy considerations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Milella, P.P.

1996-12-01

The paper presents a development of a fatigue crack growth theory published by the author in 1981 based on an energy approach. In an ideally elastic material containing a crack the only mechanism through which energy can be absorbed during a virtual crack extension is that associated to the creation of new free surface. It is an in-out situation in that a crack of a given length 2a under a stress state {sigma} either becomes unstable or stays like it is. In a real elastic-plastic material the energy absorption rate R comes mainly from the energy stored ahead of themore » crack tip as plastic strain energy. The resistance R is no longer represented by a constant term, but becomes a rather complex function of crack length increasing the crack grows. The consequence is that there is sufficient energy in the system to drive the crack to a point where the driving force G is equal to the resistance R and the crack stops. Unloading the system and reloading it, the crack grows by fatigue indicating that the previous condition G = R is no longer satisfied. If this happens it is because the volume that yields ahead of the crack tip is not capable during the reloading to absorb energy with the same rate as before. This causes the crack to grow further to regain the loss through the yielding of new material and establishes again the equilibrium between G and R. The author has related this lack of capability to develop the same energy absorption rate in any of the following cycles to a shake-down effect that takes place in the plastic enclave. The theory and the equation explain why short cracks shall grow faster than large ones. It also explains why the fatigue crack growth rate depends on the ratio between the minimum and maximum stress and is practically the same in any material independently of the yield stress and toughness that the material may have.« less

Theoretical model of impact damage in structural ceramics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liaw, B. M.; Kobayashi, A. S.; Emery, A. G.

1984-01-01

This paper presents a mechanistically consistent model of impact damage based on elastic failures due to tensile and shear overloading. An elastic axisymmetric finite element model is used to determine the dynamic stresses generated by a single particle impact. Local failures in a finite element are assumed to occur when the primary/secondary principal stresses or the maximum shear stress reach critical tensile or shear stresses, respectively. The succession of failed elements thus models macrocrack growth. Sliding motions of cracks, which closed during unloading, are resisted by friction and the unrecovered deformation represents the 'plastic deformation' reported in the literature. The predicted ring cracks on the contact surface, as well as the cone cracks, median cracks, radial cracks, lateral cracks, and damage-induced porous zones in the interior of hot-pressed silicon nitride plates, matched those observed experimentally. The finite element model also predicted the uplifting of the free surface surrounding the impact site.

Role of sulphur atoms on stress relaxation and crack propagation in monolayer MoS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Baoming; Islam, Zahabul; Zhang, Kehao; Wang, Ke; Robinson, Joshua; Haque, Aman

2017-09-01

We present in-situ transmission electron microscopy of crack propagation in a freestanding monolayer MoS2 and molecular dynamic analysis of the underlying mechanisms. Chemical vapor deposited monolayer MoS2 was transferred from sapphire substrate using interfacial etching for defect and contamination minimization. Atomic resolution imaging shows crack tip atoms sustaining 14.5% strain before bond breaking, while the stress field decays at unprecedented rate of 2.15 GPa Å-1. Crack propagation is seen mostly in the zig-zag direction in both model and experiment, suggesting that the mechanics of fracture is not brittle. Our computational model captures the mechanics of the experimental observations on crack propagation in MoS2. While molybdenum atoms carry most of the mechanical load, we show that the sliding motion of weakly bonded sulphur atoms mediate crack tip stress relaxation, which helps the tip sustain very high, localized stress levels.

Nonlinear Dynamics of a Helicopter Model in Ground Resonance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tang, D. M.; Dowell, E. H.

1985-01-01

An approximate theoretical method is presented which determined the limit cycle behavior of a helicopter model which has one or two nonlinear dampers. The relationship during unstable ground resonance oscillations between lagging motion of the blades and fuselage motion is discussed. An experiment was carried out on using a helicopter scale model. The experimental results agree with those of the theoretical analysis.

Crack classification and evolution in anisotropic shale during cyclic loading tests by acoustic emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Miaomiao; Tan, Chengxuan; Meng, Jing; Yang, Baicun; Li, Yuan

2017-08-01

Characterization and evolution of the cracking mode in shale formation is significant, as fracture networks are an important element in shale gas exploitation. In this study we determine the crack modes and evolution in anisotropic shale under cyclic loading using the acoustic emission (AE) parameter-analysis method based on the average frequency and RA (rise-time/amplitude) value. Shale specimens with bedding-plane orientations parallel and perpendicular to the axial loading direction were subjected to loading cycles with increasing peak values until failure occurred. When the loading was parallel to the bedding plane, most of the cracks at failure were shear cracks, while tensile cracks were dominant in the specimens that were loaded normal to the bedding direction. The evolution of the crack mode in the shale specimens observed in the loading-unloading sequence except for the first cycle can be divided into three stages: (I) no or several cracks (AE events) form as a result of the Kaiser effect, (II) tensile and shear cracks increase steadily at nearly equal proportions, (III) tensile cracks and shear cracks increase abruptly, with more cracks forming in one mode than in the other. As the dominant crack motion is influenced by the bedding, the failure mechanism is discussed based on the evolution of the different crack modes. Our conclusions can increase our understanding of the formation mechanism of fracture networks in the field.

An Abrupt Transition to an Intergranular Failure Mode in the Near-Threshold Fatigue Crack Growth Regime in Ni-Based Superalloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Telesman, J.; Smith, T. M.; Gabb, T. P.; Ring, A. J.

2018-06-01

Cyclic near-threshold fatigue crack growth (FCG) behavior of two disk superalloys was evaluated and was shown to exhibit an unexpected sudden failure mode transition from a mostly transgranular failure mode at higher stress intensity factor ranges to an almost completely intergranular failure mode in the threshold regime. The change in failure modes was associated with a crossover of FCG resistance curves in which the conditions that produced higher FCG rates in the Paris regime resulted in lower FCG rates and increased ΔK th values in the threshold region. High-resolution scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to carefully characterize the crack tips at these near-threshold conditions. Formation of stable Al-oxide followed by Cr-oxide and Ti-oxides was found to occur at the crack tip prior to formation of unstable oxides. To contrast with the threshold failure mode regime, a quantitative assessment of the role that the intergranular failure mode has on cyclic FCG behavior in the Paris regime was also performed. It was demonstrated that even a very limited intergranular failure content dominates the FCG response under mixed mode failure conditions.

The Shock and Vibration Digest. Volume 15, Number 8

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-08-01

a number of cracks have occurred in rotor shafts of turbogenerator sys - tems. Methods for detecting such cracks have thus become important, and...Bearing-Foundation Sys - tems Caused by Electrical System Faults," IFTOMM, p 177. 95. Ming, H., Sgroi, V., and Malanoski, S.B., "Fan/ Foundation...vibra- tion fundamentals, deterministic and random signals, convolution integrals, wave motion, continuous sys - tems, sound propagation outdoors

Dynamic crack propagation in a 2D elastic body: The out-of-plane case

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nicaise, Serge; Sandig, Anna-Margarete

2007-05-01

Already in 1920 Griffith has formulated an energy balance criterion for quasistatic crack propagation in brittle elastic materials. Nowadays, a generalized energy balance law is used in mechanics [F. Erdogan, Crack propagation theories, in: H. Liebowitz (Ed.), Fracture, vol. 2, Academic Press, New York, 1968, pp. 498-586; L.B. Freund, Dynamic Fracture Mechanics, Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1990; D. Gross, Bruchmechanik, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1996] in order to predict how a running crack will grow. We discuss this situation in a rigorous mathematical way for the out-of-plane state. This model is described by two coupled equations in the reference configuration: a two-dimensional scalar wave equation for the displacement fields in a cracked bounded domain and an ordinary differential equation for the crack position derived from the energy balance law. We handle both equations separately, assuming at first that the crack position is known. Then the weak and strong solvability of the wave equation will be studied and the crack tip singularities will be derived under the assumption that the crack is straight and moves tangentially. Using the energy balance law and the crack tip behavior of the displacement fields we finally arrive at an ordinary differential equation for the motion of the crack tip.

Literature Review - Vegetation on Levees

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-01

seasonal high water and, which is therefore subject to water loading for periods of only a few days or weeks a year. As such, the function of levees...superimposed load on the relatively unstable embankment, in excess of the ability of the levee material to resist when saturated. As noted by Shields et...embankments from decayed roots or toppled trees; expansion of cracks or joints in concrete walls, canal lining, or pipes; and plugging of

Characterizing open and non-uniform vertical heat sources: towards the identification of real vertical cracks in vibrothermography experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castelo, A.; Mendioroz, A.; Celorrio, R.; Salazar, A.; López de Uralde, P.; Gorosmendi, I.; Gorostegui-Colinas, E.

2017-05-01

Lock-in vibrothermography is used to characterize vertical kissing and open cracks in metals. In this technique the crack heats up during ultrasound excitation due mainly to friction between the defect's faces. We have solved the inverse problem, consisting in determining the heat source distribution produced at cracks under amplitude modulated ultrasound excitation, which is an ill-posed inverse problem. As a consequence the minimization of the residual is unstable. We have stabilized the algorithm introducing a penalty term based on Total Variation functional. In the inversion, we combine amplitude and phase surface temperature data obtained at several modulation frequencies. Inversions of synthetic data with added noise indicate that compact heat sources are characterized accurately and that the particular upper contours can be retrieved for shallow heat sources. The overall shape of open and homogeneous semicircular strip-shaped heat sources representing open half-penny cracks can also be retrieved but the reconstruction of the deeper end of the heat source loses contrast. Angle-, radius- and depth-dependent inhomogeneous heat flux distributions within these semicircular strips can also be qualitatively characterized. Reconstructions of experimental data taken on samples containing calibrated heat sources confirm the predictions from reconstructions of synthetic data. We also present inversions of experimental data obtained from a real welded Inconel 718 specimen. The results are in good qualitative agreement with the results of liquids penetrants testing.

New breathing functions for the transverse breathing crack of the cracked rotor system: Approach for critical and subcritical harmonic analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Shudeifat, Mohammad A.; Butcher, Eric A.

2011-01-01

The actual breathing mechanism of the transverse breathing crack in the cracked rotor system that appears due to the shaft weight is addressed here. As a result, the correct time-varying area moments of inertia for the cracked element cross-section during shaft rotation are also determined. Hence, two new breathing functions are identified to represent the actual breathing effect on the cracked element stiffness matrix. The new breathing functions are used in formulating the time-varying finite element stiffness matrix of the cracked element. The finite element equations of motion are then formulated for the cracked rotor system and solved via harmonic balance method for response, whirl orbits and the shift in the critical and subcritical speeds. The analytical results of this approach are compared with some previously published results obtained using approximate formulas for the breathing mechanism. The comparison shows that the previously used breathing function is a weak model for the breathing mechanism in the cracked rotor even for small crack depths. The new breathing functions give more accurate results for the dynamic behavior of the cracked rotor system for a wide range of the crack depths. The current approach is found to be efficient for crack detection since the critical and subcritical shaft speeds, the unique vibration signature in the neighborhood of the subcritical speeds and the sensitivity to the unbalance force direction all together can be utilized to detect the breathing crack before further damage occurs.

Fatigue Resistance of CAD/CAM Resin Composite Molar Crowns

PubMed Central

Shembish, Fatma A.; Tong, Hui; Kaizer, Marina; Janal, Malvin N.; Thompson, Van P.; Opdam, Niek J.; Zhang, Yu

2016-01-01

Objective To demonstrate the fatigue behavior of CAD/CAM resin composite molar crowns using a mouth-motion step-stress fatigue test. Monolithic leucite-reinforced glass-ceramic crowns were used as a reference. Methods Fully anatomically shaped monolithic resin composite molar crowns (Lava Ultimate, n = 24) and leucite reinforced glass-ceramic crowns (IPS Empress CAD, n = 24) were fabricated using CAD/CAM systems. Crowns were cemented on aged dentin-like resin composite tooth replicas (Filtek Z100) with resin-based cements (RelyX Ultimate for Lava Ultimate or Multilink Automix for IPS Empress). Three step-stress profiles (aggressive, moderate and mild) were employed for the accelerated sliding-contact mouth-motion fatigue test. Twenty one crowns from each group were randomly distributed among these three profiles (1:2:4). Failure was designated as chip-off or bulk fracture. Optical and electronic microscopes were used to examine the occlusal surface and subsurface damages, as well as the material microstructures. Results The resin composite crowns showed only minor occlusal damage during mouth-motion step-stress fatigue loading up to 1700 N. Cross-sectional views revealed contact-induced cone cracks in all specimens, and flexural radial cracks in 2 crowns. Both cone and radial cracks were relatively small compared to the crown thickness. Extending these cracks to the threshold for catastrophic failure would require much higher indentation loads or more loading cycles. In contrast, all of the glass-ceramic crowns fractured, starting at loads of approximately 450 N. Significance Monolithic CAD/CAM resin composite crowns endure, with only superficial damage, fatigue loads 3 – 4 times higher than those causing catastrophic failure in glass-ceramic CAD crowns. PMID:26777092

On the interfacial fracture of porcelain/zirconia and graded zirconia dental structures.

PubMed

Chai, Herzl; Lee, James J-W; Mieleszko, Adam J; Chu, Stephen J; Zhang, Yu

2014-08-01

Porcelain fused to zirconia (PFZ) restorations are widely used in prosthetic dentistry. However, their susceptibility to fracture remains a practical problem. The failure of PFZ prostheses often involves crack initiation and growth in the porcelain, which may be followed by fracture along the porcelain/zirconia (P/Z) interface. In this work, we characterized the process of fracture in two PFZ systems, as well as a newly developed graded glass-zirconia structure with emphases placed on resistance to interfacial cracking. Thin porcelain layers were fused onto Y-TZP plates with or without the presence of a glass binder. The specimens were loaded in a four-point-bending fixture with the thin porcelain veneer in tension, simulating the lower portion of the connectors and marginal areas of a fixed dental prosthesis (FDP) during occlusal loading. The evolution of damage was observed by a video camera. The fracture was characterized by unstable growth of cracks perpendicular to the P/Z interface (channel cracks) in the porcelain layer, which was followed by stable cracking along the P/Z interface. The interfacial fracture energy GC was determined by a finite-element analysis taking into account stress-shielding effects due to the presence of adjacent channel cracks. The resulting GC was considerably less than commonly reported values for similar systems. Fracture in the graded Y-TZP samples occurred via a single channel crack at a much greater stress than for PFZ. No delamination between the residual glass layer and graded zirconia occurred in any of the tests. Combined with its enhanced resistance to edge chipping and good esthetic quality, graded Y-TZP emerges as a viable material concept for dental restorations. Copyright © 2014 Acta Materialia Inc. All rights reserved.

Residual strength of thin panels with cracks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Madenci, Erdogan

1994-01-01

The previous design philosophies involving safe life, fail-safe and damage tolerance concepts become inadequate for assuring the safety of aging aircraft structures. For example, the failure mechanism for the Aloha Airline accident involved the coalescence of undetected small cracks at the rivet holes causing a section of the fuselage to peel open during flight. Therefore, the fuselage structure should be designed to have sufficient residual strength under worst case crack configurations and in-flight load conditions. Residual strength is interpreted as the maximum load carrying capacity prior to unstable crack growth. Internal pressure and bending moment constitute the two major components of the external loads on the fuselage section during flight. Although the stiffeners in the form of stringers, frames and tear straps sustain part of the external loads, the significant portion of the load is taken up by the skin. In the presence of a large crack in the skin, the crack lips bulge out with considerable yielding; thus, the geometric and material nonlinearities must be included in the analysis for predicting residual strength. Also, these nonlinearities do not permit the decoupling of in-plane and out-of-plane bending deformations. The failure criterion combining the concepts of absorbed specific energy and strain energy density addresses the aforementioned concerns. The critical absorbed specific energy (local toughness) for the material is determined from the global specimen response and deformation geometry based on the uniaxial tensile test data and detailed finite element modeling of the specimen response. The use of the local toughness and stress-strain response at the continuum level eliminates the size effect. With this critical parameter and stress-strain response, the finite element analysis of the component by using STAGS along with the application of this failure criterion provides the stable crack growth calculations for residual strength predictions.

Effects of electric field on the fracture toughness (KIc) of ceramic PZT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goljahi, Sam; Lynch, Christopher S.

2013-09-01

This work was motivated by the observation that a small percentage of the ceramic lead zirconate titanate (PZT) parts in a device application, one that requires an electrode pattern on the PZT surface, developed fatigue cracks at the edges of the electrodes; yet all of the parts were subjected to similar loading. To obtain additional information on the fracture behavior of this material, similar specimens were run at higher voltage in the laboratory under a microscope to observe the initiation and growth of the fatigue cracks. A sequence of experiments was next performed to determine whether there were fracture toughness variations that depended on material processing. Plates were cut from a single bar in different locations and the Vickers indentation technique was used to measure the relative fracture toughness as a function of position along the bar. Small variations in toughness were found, that may account for some of the devices developing fatigue cracks and not others. Fracture toughness was measured next as a function of electric field. The surface crack in flexure technique was modified to apply an electric field perpendicular to a crack. The results indicate that the fracture toughness drops under a positive electric field and increases under a negative electric field that is less than the coercive field, but as the negative coercive field is approached the fracture toughness drops. Examination of the fracture surfaces using an optical microscope and a surface profilometer reveal the initial indentation crack shape and (although less accurately) the crack shape and size at the transition from stable to unstable growth. These results are discussed in terms of a ferroelastic toughening mechanism that is dependent on electric field.

Relativistic impulse approximation analysis of unstable calcium isotopes: {sup 60-74}Ca

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kaki, K.

2009-06-15

Recent relativistic mean-field calculations have provided nuclear distributions of Ca isotopes whose mass numbers are 60 through 74. We calculate observables of proton elastic scattering from these unstable isotopes and discuss relations between observables and nuclear distributions of such unstable nuclei. The calculations are based on relativistic impulse approximation (RIA) at incident proton energies from 100 through 500 MeV where predictions of RIA have been shown to provide good agreement with experimental data. To validate the use of optimal factorization and first-order calculations at these energies, contributions from the Fermi motion of the target nuclei and multiple scattering are estimatedmore » and compared with results calculated without these effects.« less

The effect of transverse crack upon parametric instability of a rotor-bearing system with an asymmetric disk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Qinkai; Chu, Fulei

2012-12-01

It is well known that either the asymmetric disk or transverse crack brings parametric inertia (or stiffness) excitation to the rotor-bearing system. When both of them appear in a rotor system, the parametric instability behaviors have not gained sufficient attentions. Thus, the effect of transverse crack upon parametric instability of a rotor-bearing system with an asymmetric disk is studied. First, the finite element equations of motion are established for the asymmetric rotor system. Both the open and breathing transverse cracks are taken into account in the model. Then, the discrete state transition matrix (DSTM) method is introduced for numerically acquiring the instability regions. Based upon these, some computations for a practical asymmetric rotor system with open or breathing transverse crack are conducted, respectively. Variations of the primary and combination instability regions induced by the asymmetric disk with the crack depth are observed, and the effect of the orientation angle between the crack and asymmetric disk on various instability regions are discussed in detail. It is shown that for the asymmetric angle around 0, the existence of transverse (either open or breathing) crack has attenuation effect upon the instability regions. Under certain crack depth, the instability regions could be vanished by the transverse crack. When the asymmetric angle is around π/2, increasing the crack depth would enhance the instability regions.

Position control of desiccation cracks by memory effect and Faraday waves.

PubMed

Nakayama, Hiroshi; Matsuo, Yousuke; Takeshi, Ooshida; Nakahara, Akio

2013-01-01

Pattern formation of desiccation cracks on a layer of a calcium carbonate paste is studied experimentally. This paste is known to exhibit a memory effect, which means that a short-time application of horizontal vibration to the fresh paste predetermines the direction of the cracks that are formed after the paste is dried. While the position of the cracks (as opposed to their direction) is still stochastic in the case of horizontal vibration, the present work reports that their positioning is also controllable, at least to some extent, by applying vertical vibration to the paste and imprinting the pattern of Faraday waves, thus breaking the translational symmetry of the system. The experiments show that the cracks tend to appear in the node zones of the Faraday waves: in the case of stripe-patterned Faraday waves, the cracks are formed twice more frequently in the node zones than in the anti-node zones, presumably due to the localized horizontal motion. As a result of this preference of the cracks to the node zones, the memory of the square lattice pattern of Faraday waves makes the cracks run in the oblique direction differing by 45 degrees from the intuitive lattice direction of the Faraday waves.

CMDS9: Continuum Mechanics and Discrete Systems 9, Istanbul Technical University, Macka. Abstracts.

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-07-01

that can only be achieved via cooperative behavior of the cells. It can be viewed as the action of a singular feedback between the micro -level (the...optimal micro -geometries of multicomponent mixtures. Also, we discuss dynamics of a transition in natural unstable systems that leads to a micro ...failure process. This occurs once the impact load reaches a critical threshold level and results in a collection of oriented matrix micro -cracks

Turbulence and wave particle interactions in solar-terrestrial plasmas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dulk, G. A.

1982-01-01

Theoretical modelling of two dimensional compressible convection in the Sun shows that convective flows can extend over many pressure scale heights without the nonlinear motions becoming supersonic, and that compressional work arising from pressure fluctuations can be comparable to that by buoyancy forces. These results are contrary to what was supposed in prevailing mixing length models for solar convection, and they imply a much greater degree of organized flow extending over the full depth of the convection zone. The nonlinear penetration of motions into the stable region below the convection zone was emphasized. These compressible flows are dominated by downward directed plumes in the unstable zone. Their strong penetration into the region of stable stratification below excites a broad spectrum of internal gravity waves there, and these in turn feed back upon the convection in the unstable zone to produce a rich time dependence.

On the analysis of the double Hopf bifurcation in machining processes via centre manifold reduction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molnar, T. G.; Dombovari, Z.; Insperger, T.; Stepan, G.

2017-11-01

The single-degree-of-freedom model of orthogonal cutting is investigated to study machine tool vibrations in the vicinity of a double Hopf bifurcation point. Centre manifold reduction and normal form calculations are performed to investigate the long-term dynamics of the cutting process. The normal form of the four-dimensional centre subsystem is derived analytically, and the possible topologies in the infinite-dimensional phase space of the system are revealed. It is shown that bistable parameter regions exist where unstable periodic and, in certain cases, unstable quasi-periodic motions coexist with the equilibrium. Taking into account the non-smoothness caused by loss of contact between the tool and the workpiece, the boundary of the bistable region is also derived analytically. The results are verified by numerical continuation. The possibility of (transient) chaotic motions in the global non-smooth dynamics is shown.

Safety of the lateral trauma position in cervical spine injuries: a cadaver model study.

PubMed

Hyldmo, P K; Horodyski, M B; Conrad, B P; Dubose, D N; Røislien, J; Prasarn, M; Rechtine, G R; Søreide, E

2016-08-01

Endotracheal intubation is not always an option for unconscious trauma patients. Prehospital personnel are then faced with the dilemma of maintaining an adequate airway without risking deleterious movement of a potentially unstable cervical spine. To address these two concerns various alternatives to the classical recovery position have been developed. This study aims to determine the amount of motion induced by the recovery position, two versions of the HAINES (High Arm IN Endangered Spine) position, and the novel lateral trauma position (LTP). We surgically created global cervical instability between the C5 and C6 vertebrae in five fresh cadavers. We measured the rotational and translational (linear) range of motion during the different maneuvers using an electromagnetic tracking device and compared the results using a general linear mixed model (GLMM) for regression. In the recovery position, the range of motion for lateral bending was 11.9°. While both HAINES positions caused a similar range of motion, the motion caused by the LTP was 2.6° less (P = 0.037). The linear axial range of motion in the recovery position was 13.0 mm. In comparison, the HAINES 1 and 2 positions showed significantly less motion (-5.8 and -4.6 mm, respectively), while the LTP did not (-4.0 mm, P = 0.067). Our results indicate that in unconscious trauma patients, the LTP or one of the two HAINES techniques is preferable to the standard recovery position in cases of an unstable cervical spine injury. © 2016 The Authors. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation.

On the dynamics aspects for the plane motion of a particle under the action of potential forces in the presence of a magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mnasri, C.; Elmandouh, A. A.

2018-06-01

This article deals with the general motion of a particle moving in the Euclidean plane under the influence of a conservative potential force in the presence of a magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the motion. We introduce the conditions for which this motion is not algebraically integrable by using Kowalevski's exponents. We present the equilibrium positions and study their stability and moreover, we clarify that the existence of the magnetic field acts as a stabilizer for maximum unstable equilibrium points for the effective potential. We employ Lyapunov theorem to construct the periodic solutions near the equilibrium points. The allowed regions of motion are specified and illustrated graphically.

Dislocation dynamics modelling of the ductile-brittle-transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hennecke, Thomas; Hähner, Peter

2009-07-01

Many materials like silicon, tungsten or ferritic steels show a transition between high temperature ductile fracture with stable crack grow and high deformation energy absorption and low temperature brittle fracture in an unstable and low deformation mode, the ductile-brittle-transition. Especially in steels, the temperature transition is accompanied by a strong increase of the measured fracture toughness over a certain temperature range and strong scatter in the toughness data in this transition regime. The change in fracture modes is affected by dynamic interactions between dislocations and the inhomogeneous stress fields of notches and small cracks. In the present work a dislocation dynamics model for the ductile-brittle-transition is proposed, which takes those interactions into account. The model can explain an increase with temperature of apparent toughness in the quasi-brittle regime and different levels of scatter in the different temperature regimes. Furthermore it can predict changing failure sites in materials with heterogeneous microstructure. Based on the model, the effects of crack tip blunting, stress state, external strain rate and irradiation-induced changes in the plastic flow properties can be discussed.

Approximate stresses in 2-D flat elastic contact fretting problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urban, Michael Rene

Fatigue results from the cyclic loading of a solid body. If the body subject to fatigue is in contact with another body and relative sliding motion occurs between these two bodies, then rubbing surface damage can accelerate fatigue failure. The acceleration of fatigue failure is especially important if the relative motion between the two bodies results in surface damage without excessive surface removal via wear. The situation just described is referred to as fretting fatigue. Understanding of fretting fatigue is greatly enhanced if the stress state associated with fretting can be characterized. For Hertzian contact, this can readily be done. Unfortunately, simple stress formulae are not available for flat body contact. The primary result of the present research is the development of a new, reasonably accurate, approximate closed form expression for 2-dimensional contact stresses which has been verified using finite element modeling. This expression is also combined with fracture mechanics to provide a simple method of determining when a crack is long enough to no longer be affected by the contact stress field. Lower bounds on fatigue life can then easily be calculated using fracture mechanics. This closed form expression can also be used to calculate crack propagation within the contact stress field. The problem of determining the cycles required to generate an initial crack and what to choose as an initial crack size is unresolved as it is in non-fretting fatigue.

Microstructure-failure mode correlations in braided composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Filatovs, G. J.; Sadler, Robert L.; El-Shiekh, Aly

1992-01-01

Explication of the fracture processes of braided composites is needed for modeling their behavior. Described is a systematic exploration of the relationship between microstructure, loading mode, and micro-failure mechanisms in carbon/epoxy braided composites. The study involved compression and fracture toughness tests and optical and scanning electron fractography, including dynamic in-situ testing. Principal failure mechanisms of low sliding, buckling, and unstable crack growth are correlated to microstructural parameters and loading modes; these are used for defining those microstructural conditions which are strength limiting.

Dynamic behaviour of a rotating cracked beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yashar, Ahmed; Ghandchi-Tehrani, Maryam; Ferguson, Neil

2016-09-01

This paper presents a new approach to investigate and analyse the vibrational behaviour of cracked rotating cantilever beams, which can for example represent helicopter or wind turbine blades. The analytical Hamiltonian method is used in modelling the rotating beam and two numerical methods, the Rayleigh-Ritz and FEM, are used to study the natural frequencies and the mode shapes of the intact rotating beams. Subsequently, a crack is introduced into the FE model and simulations are performed to identify the modal characteristics for an open cracked rotating beam. The effect of various parameters such as non-dimensional rotating speed, hub ratio and slenderness ratio are investigated for both the intact and the cracked rotating beam, and in both directions of chordwise and flapwise motion. The veering phenomena in the natural frequencies as a function of the rotational speed and the buckling speed are considered with respect to the slenderness ratio. In addition, the mode shapes obtained for the flapwise vibration are compared using the modal assurance criterion (MAC). Finally, a new three dimensional design chart is produced, showing the effect of crack location and depth on the natural frequencies of the rotating beam. This chart will be subsequently important in identifying crack defects in rotating blades.

On the finite element modeling of the asymmetric cracked rotor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

AL-Shudeifat, Mohammad A.

2013-05-01

The advanced phase of the breathing crack in the heavy duty horizontal rotor system is expected to be dominated by the open crack state rather than the breathing state after a short period of operation. The reason for this scenario is the expected plastic deformation in crack location due to a large compression stress field appears during the continuous shaft rotation. Based on that, the finite element modeling of a cracked rotor system with a transverse open crack is addressed here. The cracked rotor with the open crack model behaves as an asymmetric shaft due to the presence of the transverse edge crack. Hence, the time-varying area moments of inertia of the cracked section are employed in formulating the periodic finite element stiffness matrix which yields a linear time-periodic system. The harmonic balance method (HB) is used for solving the finite element (FE) equations of motion for studying the dynamic behavior of the system. The behavior of the whirl orbits during the passage through the subcritical rotational speeds of the open crack model is compared to that for the breathing crack model. The presence of the open crack with the unbalance force was found only to excite the 1/2 and 1/3 of the backward critical whirling speed. The whirl orbits in the neighborhood of these subcritical speeds were found to have nearly similar behavior for both open and breathing crack models. While unlike the breathing crack model, the subcritical forward whirling speeds have not been observed for the open crack model in the response to the unbalance force. As a result, the behavior of the whirl orbits during the passage through the forward subcritical rotational speeds is found to be enough to distinguish the breathing crack from the open crack model. These whirl orbits with inner loops that appear in the neighborhood of the forward subcritical speeds are then a unique property for the breathing crack model.

Eliminating log rolling as a spine trauma order.

PubMed

Conrad, Bryan P; Rossi, Gianluca Del; Horodyski, Mary Beth; Prasarn, Mark L; Alemi, Yara; Rechtine, Glenn R

2012-01-01

Currently, up to 25% of patients with spinal cord injuries may experience neurologic deterioration during the initial management of their injuries. Therefore, more effective procedures need to be established for the transportation and care of these to reduce the risk of secondary neurologic damage. Here, we present more acceptable methods to minimize motion in the unstable spine during the management of patients with traumatic spine injuries. This review summarizes more than a decade of research aimed at evaluating different methods of caring for patients with spine trauma. The most commonly utilized technique to transport spinal cord injured patients, the log rolling maneuver, produced more motion than placing a patient on a spine board, removing a spine board, performing continuous lateral therapy, and positioning a patient prone for surgery. Alternative maneuvers that produced less motion included the straddle lift and slide, 6 + lift and slide, scoop stretcher, mechanical kinetic therapy, mechanical transfers, and the use of the operating table to rotate the patient to the prone position for surgical stabilization. The log roll maneuver should be removed from the trauma response guidelines for patients with suspected spine injuries, as it creates significantly more motion in the unstable spine than the readily available alternatives. The only exception is the patient who is found prone, in which case the patient should then be log rolled directly on to the spine board utilizing a push technique.

How cracks are hot and cool: a burning issue for paper.

PubMed

Toussaint, Renaud; Lengliné, Olivier; Santucci, Stéphane; Vincent-Dospital, Tom; Naert-Guillot, Muriel; Måløy, Knut Jørgen

2016-07-07

Material failure is accompanied by important heat exchange, with extremely high temperature - thousands of degrees - reached at crack tips. Such a temperature may subsequently alter the mechanical properties of stressed solids, and finally facilitate their rupture. Thermal runaway weakening processes could indeed explain stick-slip motions and even be responsible for deep earthquakes. Therefore, to better understand catastrophic rupture events, it appears crucial to establish an accurate energy budget of fracture propagation from a clear measure of various energy dissipation sources. In this work, combining analytical calculations and numerical simulations, we directly relate the temperature field around a moving crack tip to the part α of mechanical energy converted into heat. By monitoring the slow crack growth in paper sheets using an infrared camera, we measure a significant fraction α = 12% ± 4%. Besides, we show that (self-generated) heat accumulation could weaken our samples by microfiber combustion, and lead to a fast crack/dynamic failure/regime.

Dynamic response of fluid inside a penny shaped crack

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hayashi, Kazuo; Seki, Hitoshi

1997-12-31

In order to discuss the method for estimating the geometric characteristics of geothermal reservoir cracks, a theoretical study is performed on the dynamic response of the fluid inside a reservoir crack in a rock mass subjected to a dynamic excitation due to propagation of an elastic wave. As representative models of reservoir cracks, a penny shaped crack and a two-dimensional crack which are connected to a borehole are considered. It is found that the resonance frequency of the fluid motion is dependent on the crack size, the fluid`s viscosity and the permeability of the formation. The intensity of the resonancemore » is dependent on the fluid`s viscosity when the size, the aperture and the permeability are fixed. It is also found that, at a value of the fluid`s viscosity, the resonance of fluid pressure becomes strongest. The optimum value of the fluid`s viscosity is found to be almost perfectly determined by the permeability of the formation. Furthermore, it is revealed that, if the fluid`s viscosity is fixed to be the optimum value, the resonance frequency is almost independent of the permeability and aperture, but is dependent on the size of crack. Inversely speaking, this implies that the size of the reservoir crack can be estimated from the resonance frequency, if the fluid with the above mentioned optimum value of viscosity is employed for hydraulic fracturing.« less

Acoustic emission and fatigue damage induced in plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite coating layers.

PubMed

Laonapakul, Teerawat; Otsuka, Yuichi; Nimkerdphol, Achariya Rakngarm; Mutoh, Yoshiharu

2012-04-01

In order to improve the adhesive strength of hydroxyapatite (HAp) coatings, grit blasting with Al(2)O(3) powder and then wet blasting with HAp/Ti mixed powders was carried out on a commercially pure Ti (cp-Ti) substrate. Subsequently, an HAp/Ti bond coat layer and HAp top coat layer were deposited by plasma spraying. Fatigue tests of the HAp-coated specimens were carried out under four-point bending. Acoustic emission (AE) signals during the entire fatigue test were monitored to investigate the fatigue cracking behavior of the HAp-coated specimens. The HAp-coated specimens could survive up to 10(7) cycles without spallation of the HAp coating layers at the stress amplitude of 120 MPa. The HAp-coated specimens without HAp/Ti bond coat layer showed shorter fatigue life and easy crack nucleation compared to the HAp-coated specimens with HAp/Ti bond coat layer. The delamination and spallation of the HAp top coat with HAp/Ti bond coat on cp-Ti was not observed until the crack propagated into the cp-Ti during the final fracture stage of the fatigue cycle. Therefore, the HAp/Ti bond coat layer was found to greatly improve the fatigue damage resistance of the HAp coating layer. Three stages of the fatigue failure behavior of the HAp top coat with HAp/Ti bond coat on a cp-Ti substrate can be clearly estimated by the AE monitoring technique. These stages are cracks nucleating and propagating in the coating layer, cracks propagating in the substrate, and cracks propagating unstably to final fracture. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On crack growth in molar teeth from contact on the inclined occlusal surface.

PubMed

Chai, Herzl

2015-04-01

Extracted human molar teeth are indented by hard balls laid at the central fossa, sectioned, and their interior examined for damage. Contact on the fissured enamel coat generally occurs on three distinct spots. The main forms of damage are radial cracks growing from the DEJ to the occlusal surface and median radial and cylindrical cracks growing from a contact spot to the DEJ. For large balls failure by edge chipping near a cusp apex may occur. The median cracks tend to run unstably to the DEJ upon reaching the middle part of the enamel coat. The corresponding load, PFM, and the load needed to initiate radial cracks at the DEJ, PFR, are taken to signal crown failure. The mean values of PFM and PFR are on the order of 1000N. A conical bilayer model defined by thickness d, inclination angle θ, failure stress σF and toughness KC of the enamel coat is developed to assess crown failure. The analytical predictions for PFR and PFM agree well with the tests. The results indicate that enamel thickness is so designed as to ensure that PFR and PFM just exceed the maximum bite force under normal conditions while the choice of θ seems to reflect a compromise between needs to resist crown failure and break hard food particles. Both PFR and PFM are greatly reduced with reducing d, which points to the danger posed by tooth wear. The analytical expressions for PFR and PFM may also apply to other multi-cusp mammalian or prosthetic molar crowns. Cone cracking, suppressed in the anisotropic tooth enamel, may be an important failure mode in prosthetic crowns. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Carroll limit of non-BPS Dp-brane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klusoň, J.

2017-05-01

We find Carroll non-BPS Dp-brane action by performing Carroll limit of a canonical form of unstable Dp-brane action. We analyze different Carroll limits and discuss solutions of the equations of motion of Carroll non-BPS Dp-brane at the tachyon vacuum.

Brownian motion surviving in the unstable cubic potential and the role of Maxwell's demon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ornigotti, Luca; Ryabov, Artem; Holubec, Viktor; Filip, Radim

2018-03-01

The trajectories of an overdamped particle in a highly unstable potential diverge so rapidly, that the variance of position grows much faster than its mean. A description of the dynamics by moments is therefore not informative. Instead, we propose and analyze local directly measurable characteristics, which overcome this limitation. We discuss the most probable particle position (position of the maximum of the probability density) and the local uncertainty in an unstable cubic potential, V (x ) ˜x3 , both in the transient regime and in the long-time limit. The maximum shifts against the acting force as a function of time and temperature. Simultaneously, the local uncertainty does not increase faster than the observable shift. In the long-time limit, the probability density naturally attains a quasistationary form. We interpret this process as a stabilization via the measurement-feedback mechanism, the Maxwell demon, which works as an entropy pump. The rules for measurement and feedback naturally arise from the basic properties of the unstable dynamics. All reported effects are inherent in any unstable system. Their detailed understanding will stimulate the development of stochastic engines and amplifiers and, later, their quantum counterparts.

Dynamical behavior of lean swirling premixed flame generated by change in gravitational orientation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gotoda, Hiroshi; Miyano, Takaya; Shepherd, Ian

2010-11-01

The dynamic behavior of flame front instability in lean swirling premixed flame generated by the effect of gravitational orientation has been experimentally investigated in this work. When the gravitational direction is changed relative to the flame front, i.e., in inverted gravity, an unstably fluctuating flame (unstable flame) is formed in a limited domain of equivalence ratio and swirl number (Gotoda. H et al., Physical Review E, vol. 81, 026211, 2010). The time history of flame front fluctuations show that in the buoyancy-dominated region, chaotic irregular fluctuation with low frequencies is superimposed on the dominant periodic oscillation of the unstable flame. This periodic oscillation is produced by unstable large-scale vortex motion in combustion products generated by a change in the buoyancy/swirl interaction due to the inversion of gravitational orientation. As a result, the dynamic behavior of the unstable flame becomes low-dimensional deterministic chaos. Its dynamics maintains low-dimensional deterministic chaos even in the momentum-dominated region, in which vortex breakdown in the combustion products clearly occurs. These results were clearly demonstrated by the use of nonlinear time series analysis based on chaos theory, which has not been widely applied to the investigation of combustion phenomena.

A proposal for a new definition of the axial rotation angle of the shoulder joint.

PubMed

Masuda, Tadashi; Ishida, Akimasa; Cao, Lili; Morita, Sadao

2008-02-01

The Euler/Cardan angles are commonly used to define the motions of the upper arm with respect to the trunk. This definition, however, has a problem in that the angles of both the horizontal flexion/extension and the axial rotation of the shoulder joint become unstable at the gimbal-lock positions. In this paper, a new definition of the axial rotation angle was proposed. The proposed angle was stable over the entire range of the shoulder motion. With the new definition, the neutral position of the axial rotation agreed with that in the conventional anatomy. The advantage of the new definition was demonstrated by measuring actual complex motions of the shoulder with a three-dimensional motion capture system.

Nonlinear flight dynamics and stability of hovering model insects

PubMed Central

Liang, Bin; Sun, Mao

2013-01-01

Current analyses on insect dynamic flight stability are based on linear theory and limited to small disturbance motions. However, insects' aerial environment is filled with swirling eddies and wind gusts, and large disturbances are common. Here, we numerically solve the equations of motion coupled with the Navier–Stokes equations to simulate the large disturbance motions and analyse the nonlinear flight dynamics of hovering model insects. We consider two representative model insects, a model hawkmoth (large size, low wingbeat frequency) and a model dronefly (small size, high wingbeat frequency). For small and large initial disturbances, the disturbance motion grows with time, and the insects tumble and never return to the equilibrium state; the hovering flight is inherently (passively) unstable. The instability is caused by a pitch moment produced by forward/backward motion and/or a roll moment produced by side motion of the insect. PMID:23697714

Effect of Assumed Damage and Location on the Delamination Onset Predictions for Skin-Stiffener Debonding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paris, Isabelle L.; Krueger, Ronald; OBrien, T. Kevin

2004-01-01

The difference in delamination onset predictions based on the type and location of the assumed initial damage are compared in a specimen consisting of a tapered flange laminate bonded to a skin laminate. From previous experimental work, the damage was identified to consist of a matrix crack in the top skin layer followed by a delamination between the top and second skin layer (+45 deg./-45 deg. interface). Two-dimensional finite elements analyses were performed for three different assumed flaws and the results show a considerable reduction in critical load if an initial delamination is assumed to be present, both under tension and bending loads. For a crack length corresponding to the peak in the strain energy release rate, the delamination onset load for an assumed initial flaw in the bondline is slightly higher than the critical load for delamination onset from an assumed skin matrix crack, both under tension and bending loads. As a result, assuming an initial flaw in the bondline is simpler while providing a critical load relatively close to the real case. For the configuration studied, a small delamination might form at a lower tension load than the critical load calculated for a 12.7 mm (0.5") delamination, but it would grow in a stable manner. For the bending case, assuming an initial flaw of 12.7 mm (0.5") is conservative, the crack would grow unstably.

Real-time simulation of hand motion for prosthesis control

PubMed Central

Blana, Dimitra; Chadwick, Edward K.; van den Bogert, Antonie J.; Murray, Wendy M.

2016-01-01

Individuals with hand amputation suffer substantial loss of independence. Performance of sophisticated prostheses is limited by the ability to control them. To achieve natural and simultaneous control of all wrist and hand motions, we propose to use real-time biomechanical simulation to map between residual EMG and motions of the intact hand. Here we describe a musculoskeletal model of the hand using only extrinsic muscles to determine whether real-time performance is possible. Simulation is 1.3 times faster than real time, but the model is locally unstable. Methods are discussed to increase stability and make this approach suitable for prosthesis control. PMID:27868425

Dynamic Stability Testing of the Genesis Sample Return Capsule

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheatwood, F. McNeil; Winchenbach, Gerald L.; Hathaway, Wayne; Chapman, Gary

2000-01-01

This paper documents a series of free flight tests of a scale model of the Genesis Sample Return Capsule. These tests were conducted in the Aeroballistic Research Facility (ARF), located at Eglin AFB, FL, during April 1999 and were sponsored by NASA Langley Research Center. Because these blunt atmospheric entry shapes tend to experience small angle of attack dynamic instabilities (frequently leading to limit cycle motions), the primary purpose of the present tests was to determine the dynamic stability characteristics of the Genesis configuration. The tests were conducted over a Mach number range of 1.0 to 4.5. The results for this configuration indicate that the models were dynamically unstable at low angles of attack for all Mach numbers tested. At Mach numbers below 2.5, the models were also unstable at the higher angles of attack (above 15 deg), and motion amplitudes of up to 40 deg were experienced. Above Mach 2.5, the models were dynamically stable at the higher angles of attack.

Exploring sex differences in drug use, health and service use characteristics among young urban crack users in Brazil.

PubMed

Bertoni, Neilane; Burnett, Chantal; Cruz, Marcelo Santos; Andrade, Tarcisio; Bastos, Francisco I; Leal, Erotildes; Fischer, Benedikt

2014-08-28

Studies have shown important gender differences among drug (including crack) users related to: drug use patterns; health risks and consequences; criminal involvement; and service needs/use. Crack use is prevalent in Brazil; however, few comparative data by sex exist. We examined and compared by sex key drug use, health, socio-economic indicators and service use in a bi-city sample of young (18-24 years), regular and marginalized crack users in Brazil. Study participants (total n = 159; n = 124 males and n = 35 females) were recruited by community-based methods from impoverished neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador. Assessments occurred by an anonymous interviewer-administered questionnaire and serum collection for blood-borne virus testing between November 2010 and June 2011. Descriptive statistics and differences for key variables by sex were computed; in addition, a 'chi-squared automatic interaction detector' ('CHAID') analysis explored potential primary factors differentiating male and female participants. Most participants were non-white, and had low education and multiple income sources. More women had unstable housing and income from sex work and/or panhandling/begging, whereas more men were employed. Both groups indicated multi-year histories of and frequent daily crack use, but virtually no drug injection histories. Men reported more co-use of other drugs. More women were: involved in sex-for-drug exchanges; blood-borne virus (BBV) tested and HIV+. Both groups reported similar physical and mental health patterns; however women more commonly utilized social or health services. The CHAID analysis identified sex work; paid work; begging/panhandling; as well as physical and mental health status (all at p < 0.05) as primary differentiating factors by sex. Crack users in our study showed notable differences by sex, including socio-economic indicators, drug co-use patterns, sex risks/work, BBV testing and status, and service utilization. Results emphasize the need for targeted special interventions and services for males and female crack users in Brazil.

New theory for Mode I crack-tip dislocation emission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andric, Predrag; Curtin, W. A.

2017-09-01

A material is intrinsically ductile under Mode I loading when the critical stress intensity KIe for dislocation emission is lower than the critical stress intensity KIc for cleavage. KIe is usually evaluated using the approximate Rice theory, which predicts a dependence on the elastic constants and the unstable stacking fault energy γusf for slip along the plane of dislocation emission. Here, atomistic simulations across a wide range of fcc metals show that KIe is systematically larger (10-30%) than predicted. However, the critical (crack tip) shear displacement is up to 40% smaller than predicted. The discrepancy arises because Mode I emission is accompanied by the formation of a surface step that is not considered in the Rice theory. A new theory for Mode I emission is presented based on the ideas that (i) the stress resisting step formation at the crack tip creates "lattice trapping" against dislocation emission such that (ii) emission is due to a mechanical instability at the crack tip. The new theory is formulated using a Peierls-type model, naturally includes the energy to form the step, and reduces to the Rice theory (no trapping) when the step energy is small. The new theory predicts a higher KIe at a smaller critical shear displacement, rationalizing deviations of simulations from the Rice theory. Specific predictions of KIe for the simulated materials, usually requiring use of the measured critical crack tip shear displacement due to complex material non-linearity, show very good agreement with simulations. An analytic model involving only γusf, the surface energy γs, and anisotropic elastic constants is shown to be quite accurate, serves as a replacement for the analytical Rice theory, and is used to understand differences between Rice theory and simulation in recent literature. The new theory highlights the role of surface steps created by dislocation emission in Mode I, which has implications not only for intrinsic ductility but also for crack tip twinning and fracture due to chemical interactions at the crack tip.

An Experimental and Numerical Study on Cracking Behavior of Brittle Sandstone Containing Two Non-coplanar Fissures Under Uniaxial Compression

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Sheng-Qi; Tian, Wen-Ling; Huang, Yan-Hua; Ranjith, P. G.; Ju, Yang

2016-04-01

To understand the fracture mechanism in all kinds of rock engineering, it is important to investigate the fracture evolution behavior of pre-fissured rock. In this research, we conducted uniaxial compression experiments to evaluate the influence of ligament angle on the strength, deformability, and fracture coalescence behavior of rectangular prismatic specimens (80 × 160 × 30 mm) of brittle sandstone containing two non-coplanar fissures. The experimental results show that the peak strength of sandstone containing two non-coplanar fissures depends on the ligament angle, but the elastic modulus is not closely related to the ligament angle. With the increase of ligament angle, the peak strength decreased at a ligament angle of 60°, before increasing up to our maximum ligament angle of 120°. Crack initiation, propagation, and coalescence were all observed and characterized from the inner and outer tips of pre-existing non-coplanar fissures using photographic monitoring. Based on the results, the sequence of crack evolution in sandstone containing two non-coplanar fissures was analyzed in detail. In order to fully understand the crack evolution mechanism of brittle sandstone, numerical simulations using PFC2D were performed for specimens containing two non-coplanar fissures under uniaxial compression. The results are in good agreement with the experimental results. By analyzing the stress field, the crack evolution mechanism in brittle sandstone containing two non-coplanar fissures under uniaxial compression is revealed. These experimental and numerical results are expected to improve the understanding of the unstable fracture mechanism of fissured rock engineering structures.

Control Design Strategies to Enhance Long-Term Aircraft Structural Integrity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newman, Brett A.

1999-01-01

Over the operational lifetime of both military and civil aircraft, structural components are exposed to hundreds of thousands of low-stress repetitive load cycles and less frequent but higher-stress transient loads originating from maneuvering flight and atmospheric gusts. Micro-material imperfections in the structure, such as cracks and debonded laminates, expand and grow in this environment, reducing the structural integrity and shortening the life of the airframe. Extreme costs associated with refurbishment of critical load-bearing structural components in a large fleet, or altogether reinventoring the fleet with newer models, indicate alternative solutions for life extension of the airframe structure are highly desirable. Increased levels of operational safety and reliability are also important factors influencing the desirability of such solutions. One area having significant potential for impacting crack growth/fatigue damage reduction and structural life extension is flight control. To modify the airframe response dynamics arising from command inputs and gust disturbances, feedback loops are routinely applied to vehicles. A dexterous flight control system architecture senses key vehicle motions and generates critical forces/moments at multiple points distributed throughout the airframe to elicit the desired motion characteristics. In principle, these same control loops can be utilized to influence the level of exposure to harmful loads during flight on structural components. Project objectives are to investigate and/or assess the leverage control has on reducing fatigue damage and enhancing long-term structural integrity, without degrading attitude control and trajectory guidance performance levels. In particular, efforts have focused on the effects inner loop control parameters and architectures have on fatigue damage rate. To complete this research, an actively controlled flexible aircraft model and a new state space modeling procedure for crack growth have been utilized. Analysis of the analytical state space model for crack growth revealed the critical mathematical factors, and hence the physical mechanism they represent, that influenced high rates of airframe crack growth. The crack model was then exercised with simple load inputs to uncover and expose key crack growth behavior. To characterize crack growth behavior, both "short-term" laboratory specimen test type inputs and "long-term" operational flight type inputs were considered. Harmonic loading with a single overload revealed typical exponential crack growth behavior until the overload application, after which time the crack growth was retarded for a period of time depending on the overload strength. An optimum overload strength was identified which leads to maximum retardation of crack growth. Harmonic loading with a repeated overload of varying strength and frequency again revealed an optimum overload trait for maximizing growth retardation. The optimum overload strength ratio lies near the range of 2 to 3 with dependency on frequency. Experimental data was found to correlate well with the analytical predictions.

Brittle fracture in viscoelastic materials as a pattern-formation process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleck, M.; Pilipenko, D.; Spatschek, R.; Brener, E. A.

2011-04-01

A continuum model of crack propagation in brittle viscoelastic materials is presented and discussed. Thereby, the phenomenon of fracture is understood as an elastically induced nonequilibrium interfacial pattern formation process. In this spirit, a full description of a propagating crack provides the determination of the entire time dependent shape of the crack surface, which is assumed to be extended over a finite and self-consistently selected length scale. The mechanism of crack propagation, that is, the motion of the crack surface, is then determined through linear nonequilibrium transport equations. Here we consider two different mechanisms, a first-order phase transformation and surface diffusion. We give scaling arguments showing that steady-state solutions with a self-consistently selected propagation velocity and crack shape can exist provided that elastodynamic or viscoelastic effects are taken into account, whereas static elasticity alone is not sufficient. In this respect, inertial effects as well as viscous damping are identified to be sufficient crack tip selection mechanisms. Exploring the arising description of brittle fracture numerically, we study steady-state crack propagation in the viscoelastic and inertia limit as well as in an intermediate regime, where both effects are important. The arising free boundary problems are solved by phase field methods and a sharp interface approach using a multipole expansion technique. Different types of loading, mode I, mode III fracture, as well as mixtures of them, are discussed.

Climatic impact of glacial cycle polar motion: Coupled oscillations of ice sheet mass and rotation pole position

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bills, Bruce G.; James, Thomas S.; Mengel, John G.

1999-01-01

Precessional motion of Earth's rotation axis relative to its orbit is a well-known source of long-period climatic variation. It is less well appreciated that growth and decay of polar ice sheets perturb the symmetry of the global mass distribution enough that the geographic location of the rotation axis will change by at least 15 km and possibly as much as 100 km during a single glacial cycle. This motion of the pole will change the seasonal and latitudinal pattern of temperatures. We present calculations, based on a diurnal average energy balance, which compare the summer and winter temperature anomalies due to a 1° decrease in obliquity with those due to a 1° motion of the rotation pole toward Hudson Bay. Both effects result in peak temperature perturbations of about 1° Celsius. The obliquity change primarily influences the amplitude of the seasonal cycle, while the polar motion primarily changes the annual mean temperatures. The polar motion induced temperature anomaly is such that it will act as a powerful negative feedback on ice sheet growth. We also explore the evolution of the coupled system composed of ice sheet mass and pole position. Oscillatory solutions result from the conflicting constraints of rotational and thermal stability. A positive mass anomaly on an otherwise featureless Earth is in rotational equilibrium only at the poles or the equator. The two polar equilibria are rotationally unstable, and the equatorial equilibrium, though rotationally stable, is thermally unstable. We find that with a plausible choice for the strength of coupling between the thermal and rotational systems, relatively modest external forcing can produce significant response at periods of 104–106 years, but it strongly attenuates polar motion at longer periods. We suggest that these coupled oscillations may contribute to the observed dominance of 100 kyr glacial cycles since the mid-Pleistocene and will tend to stabilize geographic patterns that are suitable to glaciations.

Brittle and Ductile Behavior in Deep-Seated Landslides: Learning from the Vajont Experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paronuzzi, Paolo; Bolla, Alberto; Rigo, Elia

2016-06-01

This paper analyzes the mechanical behavior of the unstable Mt. Toc slope before the 1963 catastrophic collapse, considering both the measured data (surface displacements and microseismicity) and the updated geological model of the prehistoric rockslide. From February 1960 up to 9 October 1963, the unstable mass behaved as a brittle-ductile `mechanical system,' characterized by remarkable microseismicity as well as by considerable surface displacements (up to 4-5 m). Recorded microshocks were the result of progressive rock fracturing of distinct resisting stiff parts made up of intact rock (indentations, undulations, and rock bridges). The main resisting stiff part was a large rock indentation located at the NE extremity of the unstable mass that acted as a mechanical constraint during the whole 1960-1963 period, inducing a progressive rototranslation toward the NE. This large constraint failed in autumn 1960, when an overall slope failure took place, as emphasized by the occurrence of the large perimetrical crack in the upper slope. In this circumstance, the collapse was inhibited by a reblocking phenomenon of the unstable mass that had been previously destabilized by the first reservoir filling. Progressive failure of localized intact rock parts progressively propagated westwards as a consequence of the two further filling-drawdown cycles of the reservoir (1962 and 1963). The characteristic brittle-ductile behavior of the Vajont landslide was made possible by the presence of a very thick (40-50 m) and highly deformable shear zone underlying the upper rigid rock mass (100-120 m thick).

How cracks are hot and cool: a burning issue for this paper

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toussaint, Renaud; Santucci, Stéphane; Lengliné, Olivier; Maloy, Knut Jorgen; Vincent-Dospital, Tom; Naert-Giuillot, Muriel

2017-04-01

Material failure is accompanied by important heat exchange, with extremely high temperature - thousands of degrees - reached at crack tips. Such temperature may subsequently alter the mechanical properties of stressed solids, and finally facilitate their rupture. Thermal runaway weakening processes could indeed explain stick-slip motions and even be responsible for deep earthquakes. Therefore, to better understand and eventually prevent catastrophic rupture events, it appears crucial to establish an accurate energy budget of fracture propagation from a clear measure of the various energy dissipation sources. In this work, combining analytical calculations and numerical simulations, we directly relate the temperature field around a moving crack tip to the part α of mechanical energy converted into heat. Monitoring the slow crack growth in paper sheets with an infrared camera, we measure a significant fraction α = 12±4%. Besides, we show that (self-generated) heat accumulation could weaken our samples with microfibers combustion, and lead to a fast crack/dynamic failure/ regime. Reference: Toussaint, R., Lengline, O., Santucci, S., Vincent-Dospital, T., Naert-Guillot, M. and Maloy, K.J., How cracks are hot and cool: a burning issue for paper (2016), Soft Matter (12), 5563-5571, DOI: 10.1039/C6SM00615A

Strain System for the Motion Base Shuttle Mission Simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huber, David C.; Van Vossen, Karl G.; Kunkel, Glenn W.; Wells, Larry W.

2010-01-01

The Motion Base Shuttle Mission Simulator (MBSMS) Strain System is an innovative engineering tool used to monitor the stresses applied to the MBSMS motion platform tilt pivot frames during motion simulations in real time. The Strain System comprises hardware and software produced by several different companies. The system utilizes a series of strain gages, accelerometers, orientation sensor, rotational meter, scanners, computer, and software packages working in unison. By monitoring and recording the inputs applied to the simulator, data can be analyzed if weld cracks or other problems are found during routine simulator inspections. This will help engineers diagnose problems as well as aid in repair solutions for both current as well as potential problems.

Motion-blur-compensated structural health monitoring system for tunnels at a speed of 100 km/h

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayakawa, Tomohiko; Ishikawa, Masatoshi

2017-04-01

High quality images of tunnel surfaces are necessary for visual judgment of abnormal parts. Hence, we propose a monitoring system from a vehicle, which is motion-blur-compensated by the back and forth motion of a galvanometer mirror to offset the vehicle speed, prolong exposure time, and take sharp images including detailed textures. As experimental result of the vehicle-mounted system, we confirmed significant improvements in image quality for a few millimeter-sized ordered black-and-white stripes and cracks, by means of motion blur compensation and prolonged exposure time, under the maximum speed allowed in Japan in a standard tunnel of a highway.

Order-parameter model for unstable multilane traffic flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lubashevsky, Ihor A.; Mahnke, Reinhard

2000-11-01

We discuss a phenomenological approach to the description of unstable vehicle motion on multilane highways that explains in a simple way the observed sequence of the ``free flow <--> synchronized mode <--> jam'' phase transitions as well as the hysteresis in these transitions. We introduce a variable called an order parameter that accounts for possible correlations in the vehicle motion at different lanes. So, it is principally due to the ``many-body'' effects in the car interaction in contrast to such variables as the mean car density and velocity being actually the zeroth and first moments of the ``one-particle'' distribution function. Therefore, we regard the order parameter as an additional independent state variable of traffic flow. We assume that these correlations are due to a small group of ``fast'' drivers and by taking into account the general properties of the driver behavior we formulate a governing equation for the order parameter. In this context we analyze the instability of homogeneous traffic flow that manifested itself in the above-mentioned phase transitions and gave rise to the hysteresis in both of them. Besides, the jam is characterized by the vehicle flows at different lanes which are independent of one another. We specify a certain simplified model in order to study the general features of the car cluster self-formation under the ``free flow <--> synchronized motion'' phase transition. In particular, we show that the main local parameters of the developed cluster are determined by the state characteristics of vehicle motion only.

Numerical solution of the exact cavity equations of motion for an unstable optical resonator.

PubMed

Bowers, M S; Moody, S E

1990-09-20

We solve numerically, we believe for the first time, the exact cavity equations of motion for a realistic unstable resonator with a simple gain saturation model. The cavity equations of motion, first formulated by Siegman ["Exact Cavity Equations for Lasers with Large Output Coupling," Appl. Phys. Lett. 36, 412-414 (1980)], and which we term the dynamic coupled modes (DCM) method of solution, solve for the full 3-D time dependent electric field inside the optical cavity by expanding the field in terms of the actual diffractive transverse eigenmodes of the bare (gain free) cavity with time varying coefficients. The spatially varying gain serves to couple the bare cavity transverse modes and to scatter power from mode to mode. We show that the DCM method numerically converges with respect to the number of eigenmodes in the basis set. The intracavity intensity in the numerical example shown reaches a steady state, and this steady state distribution is compared with that computed from the traditional Fox and Li approach using a fast Fourier transform propagation algorithm. The output wavefronts from both methods are quite similar, and the computed output powers agree to within 10%. The usefulness and advantages of using this method for predicting the output of a laser, especially pulsed lasers used for coherent detection, are discussed.

A study of unstable rock failures using finite difference and discrete element methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garvey, Ryan J.

Case histories in mining have long described pillars or faces of rock failing violently with an accompanying rapid ejection of debris and broken material into the working areas of the mine. These unstable failures have resulted in large losses of life and collapses of entire mine panels. Modern mining operations take significant steps to reduce the likelihood of unstable failure, however eliminating their occurrence is difficult in practice. Researchers over several decades have supplemented studies of unstable failures through the application of various numerical methods. The direction of the current research is to extend these methods and to develop improved numerical tools with which to study unstable failures in underground mining layouts. An extensive study is first conducted on the expression of unstable failure in discrete element and finite difference methods. Simulated uniaxial compressive strength tests are run on brittle rock specimens. Stable or unstable loading conditions are applied onto the brittle specimens by a pair of elastic platens with ranging stiffnesses. Determinations of instability are established through stress and strain histories taken for the specimen and the system. Additional numerical tools are then developed for the finite difference method to analyze unstable failure in larger mine models. Instability identifiers are established for assessing the locations and relative magnitudes of unstable failure through measures of rapid dynamic motion. An energy balance is developed which calculates the excess energy released as a result of unstable equilibria in rock systems. These tools are validated through uniaxial and triaxial compressive strength tests and are extended to models of coal pillars and a simplified mining layout. The results of the finite difference simulations reveal that the instability identifiers and excess energy calculations provide a generalized methodology for assessing unstable failures within potentially complex mine models. These combined numerical tools may be applied in future studies to design primary and secondary supports in bump-prone conditions, evaluate retreat mining cut sequences, asses pillar de-stressing techniques, or perform backanalyses on unstable failures in select mining layouts.

Fundamental photon orbits: Black hole shadows and spacetime instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cunha, Pedro V. P.; Herdeiro, Carlos A. R.; Radu, Eugen

2017-07-01

The standard black holes (BHs) in general relativity, as well as other ultracompact objects (with or without an event horizon) admit planar circular photon orbits. These light rings (LRs) determine several spacetime properties. For instance, stable LRs trigger instabilities and, in spherical symmetry, (unstable) LRs completely determine BH shadows. In generic stationary, axisymmetric spacetimes, nonplanar bound photon orbits may also exist, regardless of the integrability properties of the photon motion. We suggest a classification of these fundamental photon orbits (FPOs) and, using Poincaré maps, determine a criterion for their stability. For the Kerr BH, all FPOs are unstable (similar to its LRs) and completely determine the Kerr shadow. But in non-Kerr spacetimes, stable FPOs may also exist, even when all LRs are unstable, triggering new instabilities. We illustrate this for the case of Kerr BHs with Proca hair, wherein, moreover, qualitatively novel shadows with a cuspy edge exist, a feature that can be understood from the interplay between stable and unstable FPOs. FPOs are the natural generalization of LRs beyond spherical symmetry and should generalize the LRs key role in different spacetime properties.

Harnessing the relativistic Buneman instability for laser-ion acceleration in the transparency regime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stark, D. J.; Yin, L.; Albright, B. J.

2018-06-01

We examine the relativistic Buneman instability in systems relevant to high-intensity laser-plasma interactions under conditions of relativistically-induced transparency, as this instability can generate large-amplitude electrostatic waves at low frequencies that are pertinent to ion dynamics in these systems. Ion flows are shown to significantly alter the range of unstable wave numbers and to increase the phase velocities of the unstable modes; we particularly highlight the relativistic effects from both the ion and electron (with transverse motion) populations. These findings are related to the mode structure seen in particle-in-cell simulation results of a short-pulse laser breaking through an initially opaque target with the onset of relativistic transparency. Additionally, driving mechanisms from free energy present in density and velocity gradients are shown to be capable of significantly enhancing the growth rates, and these instabilities furthermore extend the breadth of the unstable wave number range. Lastly, we discuss how the transverse self-generated magnetic fields characteristic of short-pulse interactions can potentially constrain the unstable wave numbers in a non-trivial manner.

Development and application of an interferometric system for measuring crack displacements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sharpe, W. N., Jr.

1976-01-01

The development of the first version of a minicomputer controlled system that converts the fringe pattern motion into a voltage output proportional to displacement is presented. Details of the instrument and the calibration tests are included.

Postural time-to-contact as a precursor of visually induced motion sickness.

PubMed

Li, Ruixuan; Walter, Hannah; Curry, Christopher; Rath, Ruth; Peterson, Nicolette; Stoffregen, Thomas A

2018-06-01

The postural instability theory of motion sickness predicts that subjective symptoms of motion sickness will be preceded by unstable control of posture. In previous studies, this prediction has been confirmed with measures of the spatial magnitude and the temporal dynamics of postural activity. In the present study, we examine whether precursors of visually induced motion sickness might exist in postural time-to-contact, a measure of postural activity that is related to the risk of falling. Standing participants were exposed to oscillating visual motion stimuli in a standard laboratory protocol. Both before and during exposure to visual motion stimuli, we monitored the kinematics of the body's center of pressure. We predicted that postural activity would differ between participants who reported motion sickness and those who did not, and that these differences would exist before participants experienced subjective symptoms of motion sickness. During exposure to visual motion stimuli, the multifractality of sway differed between the Well and Sick groups. Postural time-to-contact differed between the Well and Sick groups during exposure to visual motion stimuli, but also before exposure to any motion stimuli. The results provide a qualitatively new type of support for the postural instability theory of motion sickness.

Secondary Fracturing of Europa's Crust in Response to Combined Slip and Dilation Along Strike-Slip Faults

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kattenhorn, S. A.

2003-01-01

A commonly observed feature in faulted terrestrial rocks is the occurrence of secondary fractures alongside faults. Depending on exact morphology, such fractures have been termed tail cracks, wing cracks, kinks, or horsetail fractures, and typically form at the tip of a slipping fault or around small jogs or steps along a fault surface. The location and orientation of secondary fracturing with respect to the fault plane or the fault tip can be used to determine if fault motion is left-lateral or right-lateral.

Factors controlling the size of graphene oxide sheets produced via the graphite oxide route.

PubMed

Pan, Shuyang; Aksay, Ilhan A

2011-05-24

We have studied the effect of the oxidation path and the mechanical energy input on the size of graphene oxide sheets derived from graphite oxide. The cross-planar oxidation of graphite from the (0002) plane results in periodic cracking of the uppermost graphene oxide layer, limiting its lateral dimension to less than 30 μm. We use an energy balance between the elastic strain energy associated with the undulation of graphene oxide sheets at the hydroxyl and epoxy sites, the crack formation energy, and the interaction energy between graphene layers to determine the cell size of the cracks. As the effective crack propagation rate in the cross-planar direction is an order of magnitude smaller than the edge-to-center oxidation rate, graphene oxide single sheets larger than those defined by the periodic cracking cell size are produced depending on the aspect ratio of the graphite particles. We also demonstrate that external energy input from hydrodynamic drag created by fluid motion or sonication, further reduces the size of the graphene oxide sheets through tensile stress buildup in the sheets.

Recurrence Effects in the Parametric Spring Pendulum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Falk, Lars

1978-01-01

Gives a perturbation analysis to recurrence effects of the spring pendulum. The recurrence depends on two conservation laws which determine the motion in an intermediate region; oscillations outside this region are unstable and must return. Gives the relation to Fermi-Pasta-Ulam problem together with the explicit solution. (Author/GA)

Motion cue effects on human pilot dynamics in manual control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Washizu, K.; Tanaka, K.; Endo, S.; Itoko, T.

1977-01-01

Two experiments were conducted to study the motion cue effects on human pilots during tracking tasks. The moving-base simulator of National Aerospace Laboratory was employed as the motion cue device, and the attitude director indicator or the projected visual field was employed as the visual cue device. The chosen controlled elements were second-order unstable systems. It was confirmed that with the aid of motion cues the pilot workload was lessened and consequently the human controllability limits were enlarged. In order to clarify the mechanism of these effects, the describing functions of the human pilots were identified by making use of the spectral and the time domain analyses. The results of these analyses suggest that the sensory system of the motion cues can yield the differential informations of the signal effectively, which coincides with the existing knowledges in the physiological area.

Effects of False Tilt Cues on the Training of Manual Roll Control Skills

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zaal, Peter M. T.; Popovici, Alexandru; Zavala, Melinda A.

2015-01-01

This paper describes a transfer-of-training study performed in the NASA Ames Vertica lMotion Simulator. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of false tilt cues on training and transfer of training of manual roll control skills. Of specific interest were the skills needed to control unstable roll dynamics of a mid-size transport aircraft close to the stall point. Nineteen general aviation pilots trained on a roll control task with one of three motion conditions: no motion, roll motion only, or reduced coordinated roll motion. All pilots transferred to full coordinated roll motion in the transfer session. A novel multimodal pilot model identification technique was successfully applied to characterize how pilots' use of visual and motion cues changed over the course of training and after transfer. Pilots who trained with uncoordinated roll motion had significantly higher performance during training and after transfer, even though they experienced the false tilt cues. Furthermore, pilot control behavior significantly changed during the two sessions, as indicated by increasing visual and motion gains, and decreasing lead time constants. Pilots training without motion showed higher learning rates after transfer to the full coordinated roll motion case.

Numerical and laboratory simulation of fault motion and earthquake occurrence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cohen, S. C.

1978-01-01

Simple linear rheologies were used with elastic forces driving the main events and viscoelastic forces being important for aftershock and creep occurrence. Friction and its dependence on velocity, stress, and displacement also plays a key role in determining how, when, and where fault motion occurs. The discussion of the qualitative behavior of the simulators focuses on the manner in which energy was stored in the system and released by the unstable and stable sliding processes. The numerical results emphasize the statistics of earthquake occurrence and the correlations among source parameters.

Fracture and Friction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerde, Eric; Marder, Michael

2001-03-01

We present an atomic scale description of a self-healing crack steadily traveling along a compressed interface between dissimilar solids. The motion is similar to the wrinkle-like Weertman pulse observed by Anooshehpoor in recent foam-rubber sliding experiments. In contrast to the theoretical models of Weertman and Adams, and the numerical calculations of Andrews and Ben-Zion, we do not employ a frictional constitutive law on the interface. Yet the restrictive conditions under which these cracks can propagate make the interface appear to have a static coefficient of friction. By analytically linking atomic and continuum fields, we are able to efficiently and exhaustively explore the conditions under which self-healing cracks can propagate. To a good approximation, they are sustainable only when the interfacial shear stresses are 0.4 times the compressive stresses.

Bifurcation theory applied to aircraft motions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hui, W. H.; Tobak, M.

1985-01-01

Bifurcation theory is used to analyze the nonlinear dynamic stability characteristics of single-degree-of-freedom motions of an aircraft or a flap about a trim position. The bifurcation theory analysis reveals that when the bifurcation parameter, e.g., the angle of attack, is increased beyond a critical value at which the aerodynamic damping vanishes, a new solution representing finite-amplitude periodic motion bifurcates from the previously stable steady motion. The sign of a simple criterion, cast in terms of aerodynamic properties, determines whether the bifurcating solution is stable (supercritical) or unstable (subcritical). For the pitching motion of a flap-plate airfoil flying at supersonic/hypersonic speed, and for oscillation of a flap at transonic speed, the bifurcation is subcritical, implying either that exchanges of stability between steady and periodic motion are accompanied by hysteresis phenomena, or that potentially large aperiodic departures from steady motion may develop. On the other hand, for the rolling oscillation of a slender delta wing in subsonic flight (wing rock), the bifurcation is found to be supercritical. This and the predicted amplitude of the bifurcation periodic motion are in good agreement with experiments.

Bifurcation theory applied to aircraft motions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hui, W. H.; Tobak, M.

1985-01-01

The bifurcation theory is used to analyze the nonlinear dynamic stability characteristics of single-degree-of-freedom motions of an aircraft or a flap about a trim position. The bifurcation theory analysis reveals that when the bifurcation parameter, e.g., the angle of attack, is increased beyond a critical value at which the aerodynamic damping vanishes, a new solution representing finite-amplitude periodic motion bifurcates from the previously stable steady motion. The sign of a simple criterion, cast in terms of aerodynamic properties, determines whether the bifurcating solution is stable (supercritical) or unstable (critical). For the pitching motion of a flap-plate airfoil flying at supersonic/hypersonic speed, and for oscillation of a flap at transonic speed, the bifurcation is subcritical, implying either that exchanges of stability between steady and periodic motion are accompanied by hysteresis phenomena, or that potentially large aperiodic departures from steady motion may develop. On the other hand, for the rolling oscillation of a slender delta wing in subsonic flight (wing rock), the bifurcation is found to be supercritical. This and the predicted amplitude of the bifurcation periodic motion are in good agreement with the experiments.

Periodic nonlinear waves resulting from the contact interaction of a crack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sang Eon; Jin, Suyeong; Hong, Jung-Wuk

2017-09-01

When two different inputs of distinct low and high frequencies are applied to a medium, the linear responses are composed of waves of two dominant frequencies. However, microcracks such as fatigue cracks generate nonlinear waves by modulating the characteristics of the incident waves. Although this phenomenon has been observed and used to detect microcracks, the underlying principles have not been thoroughly elucidated. The hysteresis properties were introduced to describe the nonlinear relationship between the stress and strain to explain these phenomena [Van Den Abeele et al., Res. Nondestruct. Eval. 12, 17 (2000) and Nazarov et al., Acoust. Phys. 49, 344 (2003)]. The generation of harmonics was explained by superimposing stress-strain relations that vary with crack width and excitation magnitude. As the crack depth increases, the ratio of magnitudes of the second harmonic to the first harmonic increases, but the increment becomes smaller [Kawashima et al., Ultrasonics 40, 611 (2002)]. Here, we show that the waves affected by the contact motion of the crack surfaces cultivate the nonlinearity in waveforms, resulting in high frequency off-band signals. With the hypothesis that the clapping of cracks might generate nonlinear components close to the high excitation frequency, we prove that the generation of the high frequency off-band peaks is directly affected by the clapping contact interaction of the crack surfaces. The amount of energy transmitted is closely related to the size of the crack width and the magnitudes of low and high frequency excitations.

An analytical method for free vibration analysis of functionally graded beams with edge cracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Dong; Liu, Yinghua; Xiang, Zhihai

2012-03-01

In this paper, an analytical method is proposed for solving the free vibration of cracked functionally graded material (FGM) beams with axial loading, rotary inertia and shear deformation. The governing differential equations of motion for an FGM beam are established and the corresponding solutions are found first. The discontinuity of rotation caused by the cracks is simulated by means of the rotational spring model. Based on the transfer matrix method, then the recurrence formula is developed to get the eigenvalue equations of free vibration of FGM beams. The main advantage of the proposed method is that the eigenvalue equation for vibrating beams with an arbitrary number of cracks can be conveniently determined from a third-order determinant. Due to the decrease in the determinant order as compared with previous methods, the developed method is simpler and more convenient to analytically solve the free vibration problem of cracked FGM beams. Moreover, free vibration analyses of the Euler-Bernoulli and Timoshenko beams with any number of cracks can be conducted using the unified procedure based on the developed method. These advantages of the proposed procedure would be more remarkable as the increase of the number of cracks. A comprehensive analysis is conducted to investigate the influences of the location and total number of cracks, material properties, axial load, inertia and end supports on the natural frequencies and vibration mode shapes of FGM beams. The present work may be useful for the design and control of damaged structures.

Studying the influence of surface effects on vibration behavior of size-dependent cracked FG Timoshenko nanobeam considering nonlocal elasticity and elastic foundation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghadiri, Majid; Soltanpour, Mahdi; Yazdi, Ali; Safi, Mohsen

2016-05-01

Free transverse vibration of a size-dependent cracked functionally graded (FG) Timoshenko nanobeam resting on a polymer elastic foundation is investigated in the present study. Also, all of the surface effects: surface density, surface elasticity and residual surface tension are studied. Moreover, satisfying the balance condition between the nanobeam and its surfaces was discussed. According to the power-law distribution, it is supposed that the material properties of the FG nanobeam are varying continuously across the thickness. Considering the small-scale effect, the Eringen's nonlocal theory is used; accounting the effect of polymer elastic foundation, the Winkler model is proposed. For this purpose, the equations of motion of the FG Timoshenko nanobeam and boundary conditions are obtained using Hamilton's principle. To find the analytical solutions for equations of motion of the FG nanobeam, the separation of variables method is employed. Two cases of boundary conditions, i.e., simply supported-simply supported (SS) and clamped-clamped (CC) are investigated in the present work. Numerical results are demonstrating a good agreement between the results of the present study and some available cases in the literature. The emphasis of the present study is on investigating the effect of various parameters such as crack severity, crack position, gradient index, mode number, nonlocal parameter, elastic foundation parameter and nanobeam length. It is clearly revealed that the vibrational behavior of a FG nanobeam is depending significantly on these effects. Also, these numerical results can be serving as benchmarks for future studies of FG nanobeams.

Cavitation instability as a trigger of aneurysm rupture.

PubMed

Volokh, K Y

2015-10-01

Aneurysm formation and growth is accompanied by microstructural alterations in the arterial wall. Particularly, the loss of elastin may lead to tissue disintegration and appearance of voids or cavities at the micron scale. Unstable growth and coalescence of voids may be a predecessor and trigger for the onset of macroscopic cracks. In the present work, we analyze the instability of membrane (2D) and bulk (3D) voids under hydrostatic tension by using two experimentally calibrated constitutive models of abdominal aortic aneurysm enhanced with energy limiters. The limiters provide the saturation value for the strain energy, which indicates the maximum energy that can be stored and dissipated by an infinitesimal material volume. We find that the unstable growth of voids can start when the critical stress is considerably less than the aneurysm strength. Moreover, this critical stress may even approach the arterial wall stress in the physiological range. This finding suggests that cavitation instability can be a rational indicator of the aneurysm rupture.

A two-stage model of fracture of rocks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kuksenko, V.; Tomilin, N.; Damaskinskaya, E.; Lockner, D.

1996-01-01

In this paper we propose a two-stage model of rock fracture. In the first stage, cracks or local regions of failure are uncorrelated occur randomly throughout the rock in response to loading of pre-existing flaws. As damage accumulates in the rock, there is a gradual increase in the probability that large clusters of closely spaced cracks or local failure sites will develop. Based on statistical arguments, a critical density of damage will occur where clusters of flaws become large enough to lead to larger-scale failure of the rock (stage two). While crack interaction and cooperative failure is expected to occur within clusters of closely spaced cracks, the initial development of clusters is predicted based on the random variation in pre-existing Saw populations. Thus the onset of the unstable second stage in the model can be computed from the generation of random, uncorrelated damage. The proposed model incorporates notions of the kinetic (and therefore time-dependent) nature of the strength of solids as well as the discrete hierarchic structure of rocks and the flaw populations that lead to damage accumulation. The advantage offered by this model is that its salient features are valid for fracture processes occurring over a wide range of scales including earthquake processes. A notion of the rank of fracture (fracture size) is introduced, and criteria are presented for both fracture nucleation and the transition of the failure process from one scale to another.

Mechanisms of Diagonal-Shear Failure in Reinforced Concrete Beams analyzed by AE-SiGMA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ohno, Kentaro; Shimozono, Shinichiro; Sawada, Yosuke; Ohtsu, Masayasu

Serious shear failures in reinforced concrete (RC) structures were reported in the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. In particular, it was demonstrated that a diagonal-shear failure could lead to disastrous damage. However, mechanisms of the diagonal-shear failure in RC beams have not been completely clarified yet. In this study, the diagonal-shear failure in RC beams is investigated, applying acoustic emission (AE) method. To identify source mechanisms of AE signals, SiGMA (Simplified Green's functions for Moment tensor Analysis) procedure was applied. Prior to four-point bending tests of RC beams, theoretical waveforms were calculated to determine the optimal arrangement of AE sensors. Then, cracking mechanisms in experiments were investigated by applying the SiGMA procedure to AE waveforms. From results of the SiGMA analysis, dominant motions of micro-cracks are found to be of shear crack in all the loading stages. As the load increased, the number of tensile cracks increased and eventually the diagonal-shear failure occurred in the shear span. Prior to final failure, AE cluster of micro-cracks was intensely observed in the shear span. To classify AE sources into tensile and shear cracks, AE parameter analysis was also applied. As a result, most of AE hits are classified into tensile cracks. The difference between results obtained by the AE parameter analysis and by the SiGMA analysis is investigated and discussed.

Vibration analysis of partially cracked plate submerged in fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soni, Shashank; Jain, N. K.; Joshi, P. V.

2018-01-01

The present work proposes an analytical model for vibration analysis of partially cracked rectangular plates coupled with fluid medium. The governing equation of motion for the isotropic plate based on the classical plate theory is modified to accommodate a part through continuous line crack according to simplified line spring model. The influence of surrounding fluid medium is incorporated in the governing equation in the form of inertia effects based on velocity potential function and Bernoulli's equations. Both partially and totally submerged plate configurations are considered. The governing equation also considers the in-plane stretching due to lateral deflection in the form of in-plane forces which introduces geometric non-linearity into the system. The fundamental frequencies are evaluated by expressing the lateral deflection in terms of modal functions. The assessment of the present results is carried out for intact submerged plate as to the best of the author's knowledge the literature lacks in analytical results for submerged cracked plates. New results for fundamental frequencies are presented as affected by crack length, fluid level, fluid density and immersed depth of plate. By employing the method of multiple scales, the frequency response and peak amplitude of the cracked structure is analyzed. The non-linear frequency response curves show the phenomenon of bending hardening or softening and the effect of fluid dynamic pressure on the response of the cracked plate.

Study of the Nankai seismogenic fault using dynamic wave propagation modelling of digital rock from the Nobeoka Fault

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eng, Chandoeun; Ikeda, Tatsunori; Tsuji, Takeshi

2018-10-01

To understand the characteristics of the Nankai seismogenic fault in the plate convergent margin, we calculated the P- and S-wave velocities (VP and VS) of digital rock models constructed from core samples of an ancient plate boundary fault at Nobeoka, Kyushu Island, Japan. We first constructed 3D digital rock models from microcomputed tomography images and identified their heterogeneous textures such as cracks and veins. We replaced the cracks and veins with air, water, quartz, calcite and other materials with different bulk and shear moduli. Using the Rotated Staggered Grid Finite-Difference Method, we performed dynamic wave propagation simulations and quantified the effective VP, VS and the ratio of VP to VS (VP/VS) of the 3D digital rock models with different crack-filling minerals. Our results demonstrate that the water-saturated cracks considerably decreased the seismic velocity and increased VP/VS. The VP/VS of the quartz-filled rock model was lower than that in the water-saturated case and in the calcite-filled rock model. By comparing the elastic properties derived from the digital rock models with the seismic velocities (e.g. VP and VP/VS) around the seismogenic fault estimated from field seismic data, we characterised the evolution process of the deep seismogenic fault. The high VP/VS and low VP observed at the transition from aseismic to coseismic regimes in the Nankai Trough can be explained by open cracks (or fractures), while the low VP/VS and high VP observed at the deeper coseismic fault zone suggests quartz-filled cracks. The quartz-rich fault zone characterised as low VP/VS and high VP in this study could partially relate to the coseismic behaviour as suggested by previous studies, because quartz exhibits slip-weakening behaviour (i.e. unstable coseismic slip).

On the Transition from Two-Dimensional to Three-Dimensional MHD Turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thess, A.; Zikanov, Oleg

2004-01-01

We report a theoretical investigation of the robustness of two-dimensional inviscid MHD flows at low magnetic Reynolds numbers with respect to three-dimensional perturbations. We analyze three model problems, namely flow in the interior of a triaxial ellipsoid, an unbounded vortex with elliptical streamlines, and a vortex sheet parallel to the magnetic field. We demonstrate that motion perpendicular to the magnetic field with elliptical streamlines becomes unstable with respect to the elliptical instability once the velocity has reached a critical magnitude whose value tends to zero as the eccentricity of the streamlines becomes large. Furthermore, vortex sheets parallel to the magnetic field, which are unstable for any velocity and any magnetic field, are found to emit eddies with vorticity perpendicular to the magnetic field and with an aspect ratio proportional to N(sup 1/2). The results suggest that purely two-dimensional motion without Joule energy dissipation is a singular type of flow which does not represent the asymptotic behaviour of three-dimensional MHD turbulence in the limit of infinitely strong magnetic fields.

Electrostatic precursors to granular slip events

PubMed Central

Shinbrot, Troy; Kim, Nam H.; Thyagu, N. Nirmal

2012-01-01

It has been known for over a century that electrical signals are produced by material failure, for example during crack formation of crystals and glasses, or stick-slip motion of liquid mercury on glass. We describe here new experiments revealing that slip events in cohesive powders also produce electrical signals, and remarkably these signals can appear significantly in advance of slip events. We have confirmed this effect in two different experimental systems and using two common powdered materials, and in a third experiment we have demonstrated that similar voltage signals are produced by crack-like defects in several powdered materials. PMID:22689956

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tanaka, T.; Kameyama, M.; Urabe, Y.

At present, cast duplex stainless steel has been used for the primary coolant piping of PWRs in Japan and joints of dissimilar material have been applied for welding to reactor vessels and steam generators. For the primary coolant piping of the next APWR plants, application of low alloy steel that results in designing main loops with the same material is being studied. It means that there is no need to weld low alloy steel with stainless steel and that makes it possible to reduce the welding length. Attenuation of Ultra Sonic Wave Intensity is lower for low alloy steel thanmore » for stainless steel and they have advantageous inspection characteristics. In addition to that, the thermal expansion rate is smaller for low alloy steel than for stainless steel. In consideration of the above features of low alloy steel, the overall reliability of primary coolant piping is expected to be improved. Therefore, for the evaluation of crack stability of low alloy steel piping to be applied for primary loops, elastic-plastic future mechanics analysis was performed by means of a three-dimensioned FEM. The evaluation results for the low alloy steel pipings show that cracks will not grow into unstable fractures under maximum design load conditions, even when such a circumferential crack is assumed to be 6 times the size of the wall thickness.« less

Three-dimensional to two-dimensional transition in mode-I fracture microbranching in a perturbed hexagonal close-packed lattice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heizler, Shay I.; Kessler, David A.

2017-06-01

Mode-I fracture exhibits microbranching in the high velocity regime where the simple straight crack is unstable. For velocities below the instability, classic modeling using linear elasticity is valid. However, showing the existence of the instability and calculating the dynamics postinstability within the linear elastic framework is difficult and controversial. The experimental results give several indications that the microbranching phenomenon is basically a three-dimensional (3D) phenomenon. Nevertheless, the theoretical effort has been focused mostly on two-dimensional (2D) modeling. In this paper we study the microbranching instability using three-dimensional atomistic simulations, exploring the difference between the 2D and the 3D models. We find that the basic 3D fracture pattern shares similar behavior with the 2D case. Nevertheless, we exhibit a clear 3D-2D transition as the crack velocity increases, whereas as long as the microbranches are sufficiently small, the behavior is pure 3D behavior, whereas at large driving, as the size of the microbranches increases, more 2D-like behavior is exhibited. In addition, in 3D simulations, the quantitative features of the microbranches, separating the regimes of steady-state cracks (mirror) and postinstability (mist-hackle) are reproduced clearly, consistent with the experimental findings.

Dynamics and control of tethered antennas/reflectors in orbit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Liangdong; Bainum, Peter M.

The system linear equations for the motion of a tethered shallow spherical shell in orbit with its symmetry axis nominally following the local vertical are developed. The shell roll, yaw, tether out-of-plane swing motion and elastic vibrations are decoupled from the shell and tether in-plane pitch motions and elastic vibrations. The neutral gravity stability conditions for the special case of a constant length rigid tether are given for in-plane motion and out-of-plant motion. It is proved that the in-plane motion of the system could be asymptotically stable based on Rupp's tension control law, for a variable length tether. However, the system simulation results indicate that the transient responses can be improved significantly, especially for the damping of the tether and shell pitch motion, by an optimal feedback control law for the rigid variable length tether model. It is also seen that the system could be unstable when the effect of tether flexibility is included if the control gains are not chosen carefully. The transient responses for three different tension control laws are compared during typical station keeping operations.

A modified Brownian force for ultrafine particle penetration through building crack modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chen; Zhao, Bin

2017-12-01

Combustion processes related to industry, traffic, agriculture, and waste treatment and disposal increase the amount of outdoor ultrafine particles (UFPs), which have adverse effects on human health. Given that people spend the majority of their time indoors, it is critical to understand the penetration of outdoor UFPs through building cracks in order to estimate human exposure to outdoor-originated UFPs. Lagrangian tracking is an efficient approach for modeling particle penetration. However, the Brownian motion for Lagrangian tracking in ANSYS Fluent®, a widely used software for particle dispersion modeling, is not able to model UFP dispersion accurately. In this study, we modified the Brownian force by rewriting the Brownian diffusion coefficient and particle integration time step with a user-defined function in ANSYS Fluent® to model particle penetration through building cracks. The results obtained using the modified model agree much better with the experimental results, with the averaged relative error less than 14% for the smooth crack cases and 21% for the rough crack case. We expect the modified Brownian force model proposed herein to be applied for UFP dispersion modeling in more indoor air quality studies.

The Effect of Interface Cracks on the Electrical Performance of Solar Cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hansung; Tofail, Md. Towfiq; John, Ciby

2018-04-01

Among a variety of solar cell types, thin-film solar cells have been rigorously investigated as cost-effective and efficient solar cells. In many cases, flexible solar cells are also fabricated as thin films and undergo frequent stress due to the rolling and bending modes of applications. These frequent motions result in crack initiation and propagation (including delamination) in the thin-film solar cells, which cause degradation in efficiency. Reliability evaluation of solar cells is essential for developing a new type of solar cell. In this paper, we investigated the effect of layer delamination and grain boundary crack on 3D thin-film solar cells. We used finite element method simulation for modeling of both electrical performance and cracked structure of 3D solar cells. Through simulations, we quantitatively calculated the effect of delamination length on 3D copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) solar cell performance. Moreover, it was confirmed that the grain boundary of CIGS could improve the solar cell performance and that grain boundary cracks could decrease cell performance by altering the open circuit voltage. In this paper, the investigated material is a CIGS solar cell, but our method can be applied to general polycrystalline solar cells.

A continuous vibration theory for rotors with an open edge crack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ebrahimi, Alireza; Heydari, Mahdi; Behzad, Mehdi

2014-07-01

In this paper a new continuous model for flexural vibration of rotors with an open edge crack has been developed. The cracked rotor is considered in the rotating coordinate system attached to it. Therefore, the rotor bending can be decomposed in two perpendicular directions. Two quasi-linear displacement fields are assumed for these two directions and the strain and stress fields are calculated in each direction. Then the final displacement and stress fields are obtained by composing the displacement and stress fields in the two directions. The governing equation of motion for the rotor has been obtained using the Hamilton principle and solved using a modified Galerkin method. The free vibration has been analyzed and the critical speeds have been calculated. Results are compared with the finite element results and an excellent agreement is observed.

Determination of Global Stability of the Slosh Motion in a Spacecraft via Num Erical Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Ja-Young

2003-12-01

The global stability of the attitude motion of a spin-stabilized space vehicle is investigated by performing numerical experiment. In the previous study, a stationary solution and a particular resonant condition for a given model were found by using analytical method but failed to represent the system stability over parameter values near and off the stationary points. Accordingly, as an extension of the previous work, this study performs numerical experiment to investigate the stability of the system across the parameter space and determines stable and unstable regions of the design parameters of the system.

Excess Noise Depletion of a Bose-Einstein Condensate in an Optical Cavity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Szirmai, G.; Nagy, D.; Domokos, P.

2009-02-27

Quantum fluctuations of a cavity field coupled into the motion of ultracold bosons can be strongly amplified by a mechanism analogous to the Petermann excess noise factor in lasers with unstable cavities. For a Bose-Einstein condensate in a stable optical resonator, the excess noise effect amounts to a significant depletion on long time scales.

Robust object tacking based on self-adaptive search area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Taihang; Zhong, Sheng

2018-02-01

Discriminative correlation filter (DCF) based trackers have recently achieved excellent performance with great computational efficiency. However, DCF based trackers suffer boundary effects, which result in the unstable performance in challenging situations exhibiting fast motion. In this paper, we propose a novel method to mitigate this side-effect in DCF based trackers. We change the search area according to the prediction of target motion. When the object moves fast, broad search area could alleviate boundary effects and reserve the probability of locating object. When the object moves slowly, narrow search area could prevent effect of useless background information and improve computational efficiency to attain real-time performance. This strategy can impressively soothe boundary effects in situations exhibiting fast motion and motion blur, and it can be used in almost all DCF based trackers. The experiments on OTB benchmark show that the proposed framework improves the performance compared with the baseline trackers.

Method to Reduce Target Motion Through Needle-Tissue Interactions.

PubMed

Oldfield, Matthew J; Leibinger, Alexander; Seah, Tian En Timothy; Rodriguez Y Baena, Ferdinando

2015-11-01

During minimally invasive surgical procedures, it is often important to deliver needles to particular tissue volumes. Needles, when interacting with a substrate, cause deformation and target motion. To reduce reliance on compensatory intra-operative imaging, a needle design and novel delivery mechanism is proposed. Three-dimensional finite element simulations of a multi-segment needle inserted into a pre-existing crack are presented. The motion profiles of the needle segments are varied to identify methods that reduce target motion. Experiments are then performed by inserting a needle into a gelatine tissue phantom and measuring the internal target motion using digital image correlation. Simulations indicate that target motion is reduced when needle segments are stroked cyclically and utilise a small amount of retraction instead of being held stationary. Results are confirmed experimentally by statistically significant target motion reductions of more than 8% during cyclic strokes and 29% when also incorporating retraction, with the same net insertion speed. By using a multi-segment needle and taking advantage of frictional interactions on the needle surface, it is demonstrated that target motion ahead of an advancing needle can be substantially reduced.

Effect of Spindle Parameters of Woodworking Band Saw on the AE Value of Crack Band Saw Blade in Compound Material Processing (1)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Jin-gui; Jiang, Zhao-fang; Luo, Lai-peng

2017-04-01

Taking the MJ3210A motion band saw as the research object, the AE value of the band saw blade vibration was obtained by analyzing the VIBSYS vibration signal acquisition and analysis software system in Beijing, and the change of the AE value of the band saw and the crack was found out. The experimental results show that in the MJ3210A sports car sawing machine, the band saw blade with width of 130 mm is used, and the AE value of the cracked band saw blade is well in the high band saw blade AE value. Under the best working condition of the band saw, the band saw blade AE If the value exceeds 104.7 dB (A) above, it means that the band saw blade has at least one crack length greater than 1.38 mm for the crack defect and the need to replace the band saw blade in time. Different species with saw blade of the AE value is different, white pine wood minimum, the largest oak wood; according to a variety of wood processing AE instrument value to determine the band saw blade crack to the situation; so as to fully rational use of band saw blade, The failure and the degree of development to find a new method.

Site response variation due to the existence of near-field cracks based on strong motion records in the Shi-Wen river valley, southern Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Chi-Shin; Yu, Teng-To; Peng, Wen-Fei; Yeh, Yeoin-Tein; Lin, Sih-Siao

2014-10-01

Site effect analysis has been applied to investigate soil classification, alluvium depth, and fracture detection, although the majority of previous studies have typically focused only on the response of large-scale single structures. In contrast, we investigated the site effect for small-scale cracks using a case study in southern Taiwan to provide a means of monitoring slope stability or foundation integrity in situ using only an accelerometer. We adopted both the reference site and horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio methods. We obtained seismographs associated with the typhoon-related development of a crack set (52 m long, 5 m deep) in a steep slope and compared the resonance frequency between two conditions (with and without cracks). Moreover, we divided the seismic waves into P, S, and coda waves and examined the seismic source effect. Our results demonstrate that frequencies of 14.5-17.5 Hz are most sensitive to these cracks, particularly for the E-W component of the P-waves, which coincides with the crack’s strike. Peak ground acceleration, which is controlled by seismic moment and attenuated distance, is another important factor determining the resonance results. Our results demonstrate that the ratio of temporal seismic waves can be used to detect the existence of nearby subsurface cracks.

Non Contacting Evaluation of Strains and Cracking Using Optical and Infrared Imaging Techniques

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-08-22

Compatible Zenith Z-386 microcomputer with plotter II. 3-D Motion Measurinq System 1. Complete OPTOTRAK three dimensional digitizing system. System includes...acquisition unit - 16 single ended analog input channels 3. Data Analysis Package software (KINEPLOT) 4. Extra OPTOTRAK Camera (max 224 per system

Critical evaluation of the unsteady aerodynamics approach to dynamic stability at high angles of attack

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hui, W. H.

1985-01-01

Bifurcation theory is used to analyze the nonlinear dynamic stability characteristics of an aircraft subject to single-degree-of-freedom. The requisite moment of the aerodynamic forces in the equations of motion is shown to be representable in a form equivalent to the response to finite amplitude oscillations. It is shown how this information can be deduced from the case of infinitesimal-amplitude oscillations. The bifurcation theory analysis reveals that when the bifurcation parameter is increased beyond a critical value at which the aerodynamic damping vanishes, new solutions representing finite amplitude periodic motions bifurcate from the previously stable steady motion. The sign of a simple criterion, cast in terms of aerodynamic properties, determines whether the bifurcating solutions are stable or unstable. For the pitching motion of flat-plate airfoils flying at supersonic/hypersonic speed and for oscillation of flaps at transonic speed, the bifurcation is subcritical, implying either the exchanges of stability between steady and periodic motion are accompanied by hysteresis phenomena, or that potentially large aperiodic departures from steady motion may develop.

A Newtonian interpretation of configurational forces on dislocations and cracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ballarini, Roberto; Royer-Carfagni, Gianni

2016-10-01

Configurational forces are fundamental concepts in the description of the motion of dislocations, cracks and other defects that introduce singularities within the solid state. They are defined by considering variations in energies associated with the movement of such defects, and are therefore different from the classical forces that enter the balance laws of classical Newtonian mechanics. Here, it is demonstrated how a configurational force can be viewed as the resultant of the (Newtonian) contact forces acting on the perturbed shape of an object of substance equivalent to the defect, and evaluated in the limit of the shape being restored to the primitive configuration. The expressions for the configurational forces on the paradigmatic examples of cracks and dislocations are in agreement with those determined using classical variational arguments. This finding opens a new prospective in the use of configurational forces by permitting their physical and intuitive visualization.

Dynamic stability of the trunk during unstable sitting in people with low back pain.

PubMed

Freddolini, Marco; Strike, Siobhan; Lee, Raymond

2014-05-01

Cross-sectional study. To evaluate the dynamic stability and kinematics of the trunk during unstable sitting, and to determine the differences in these biomechanical parameters between healthy participants and participants with low back pain (LBP). Patients with LBP exhibited alterations in trunk kinematics while performing different dynamic tasks and in static posture as a result of pain. It is not clear if changing in trunk motion may reduce postural control and the ability to perform a balancing task. Twenty-three participants with LBP and 31 healthy participants were requested to sit on a custom-made swinging chair and to regain the balance after tilting the chair backward for 10° and 20°. Lumbar spine, pelvis, and chair motions were recorded using FASTRAK sensors. The thoracolumbar curvature of all participants was also evaluated in the standing position. The angular displacement of the chair was fitted in an equation describing the underdamped second-order response to a step input. Kinematic analysis showed that the hip range of motion increased whereas spine range of motion angle decreased in participants with LBP for both tilt angles (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the 2 subject groups in the time required to regain balance, and the natural frequency and damping ratio of the kinematic equation. Lumbar lordosis significantly decreased in LBP group. Participants with LBP showed trunk postural and movement adaptations that seems to be compensatory strategies to decrease the risk of further injuries and aggravation of the symptoms, but their ability to regain the balance was not affected by LBP. Clinicians should encourage patients with LBP to remain active while they are experiencing pain.

Motion generated in the unstable cervical spine during the application and removal of cervical immobilization collars.

PubMed

Prasarn, Mark L; Conrad, Bryan; Del Rossi, Gianluca; Horodyski, MaryBeth; Rechtine, Glenn R

2012-06-01

Many studies have compared the restriction of motion that immobilization collars provide to the injured victim. No previous investigation has assessed the amount of motion that is generated during the fitting and removal process. The purpose of this study was to compare the three-dimensional motion generated when one-piece and two-piece cervical collars are applied and removed from cadavers intact and with unstable cervical spine injuries. Five fresh, lightly embalmed cadavers were tested three times each with either a one-piece or two-piece cervical collar in the supine position. Testing was performed in the intact state, following creation of a global ligamentous instability at C5-C6. The amount of angular motion resulting from the collar application and removal was measured using a Fastrak, three-dimensional, electromagnetic motion analysis device (Polhemus Inc., Colchester, VT). The measurements recorded in this investigation included maximum values for flexion/extension, axial rotation, medial/lateral flexion, anterior/posterior displacement, axial distraction, and medial/lateral displacement at the level of instability. There was statistically more motion observed with application or removal of either collar following the creation of a global instability. During application, there was a statistically significant difference in flexion/extension between the one-piece (1.8 degrees) and two-piece (2.6 degrees) collars, p = 0.009. There was also a statistically significant difference in anterior/posterior translation between the one-piece (3.6 mm) and two-piece (3.4 mm) collars, p = 0.015. The maximum angulation and displacement during the application of either collar was 3.4 degrees and 4.4 mm. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences between the one-piece and two-piece collars during the removal process. The maximum angulation and displacement during removal of either collar type was 1.6 degrees and 2.9 mm. There were statistically significant differences in motion between the one-piece and two-piece collars during the application process, but it was only 1.2 degrees in flexion/extension and 0.2 mm in anterior/posterior translation. Overall, the greatest amount of angulation and displacement observed during collar application was 3.4 degrees and 4.4 mm. Although the exact amount of motion that could be deleterious to a cervical spine-injured patient is unknown, collars can be placed and removed with manual in-line stabilization without large displacements. Only trained practitioners should do so and with great care given that some motion in all planes does occur during the process. Copyright © 2012 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Micro-shimmy of towed structures in experimentally uncharted unstable parameter domain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takács, Dénes; Stépán, Gábor

2012-11-01

In this paper, the lateral instability of towed structures (trailers, caravans and articulated buses) is investigated with special attention to the small amplitude lateral vibration that leads to a higher energy consumption in certain parameter domains. A low degree-of-freedom mechanical model of a shimmying towed tyre is used that describes the dynamics of the tyre-ground contact patch by the time delayed differential equation. Stability charts are calculated and the theoretically predicted linear unstable islands of small amplitude shimmy motions are validated by laboratory experiments. A tyre is towed by a relatively long caster, and its temperature and the input current of the conveyor belt are measured in order to show the increased value of the rolling resistance.

STABILITY OF A CABLE-MOORED AIRSHIP

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bennett, M.D.

1959-03-01

Equations of motion for the longitudinal and directional stability of a cable-moored airship were analyzed on an analog computer by subjecting the configuration to a horizontals ramp-type gust and observing the induced motion. The results indicate that the proposed configuration is dynamically stable (overdamped, essentially), and that it possesses a sufficiently high degree of stability to permit a 20-percent reduction in the fin planform area governing stability in the longitudinal direction. However, this reduction cannot be accomplished by decreasing the appropriate area of the proposed three-fintail because such a decrease causes the airship to become directionally unstable. Aerodynamically, the desiredmore » area reduction can best be effected by the use of a four-fin tail. Motions are calculated for various modifications to the proposed configuration. (auth)« less

High Resolution Full-Aperture ISAR Processing through Modified Doppler History Based Motion Compensation

PubMed Central

Song, Jung-Hwan; Lee, Kee-Woong; Lee, Woo-Kyung; Jung, Chul-Ho

2017-01-01

A high resolution inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) technique is presented using modified Doppler history based motion compensation. To this purpose, a novel wideband ISAR system is developed that accommodates parametric processing over extended aperture length. The proposed method is derived from an ISAR-to-SAR approach that makes use of high resolution spotlight SAR and sub-aperture recombination. It is dedicated to wide aperture ISAR imaging and exhibits robust performance against unstable targets having non-linear motions. We demonstrate that the Doppler histories of the full aperture ISAR echoes from disturbed targets are efficiently retrieved with good fitting models. Experiments have been conducted on real aircraft targets and the feasibility of the full aperture ISAR processing is verified through the acquisition of high resolution ISAR imagery. PMID:28555036

Analytical Modeling of Pressure Wall Hole Size and Maximum Tip-to-Tip Crack Length for Perforating Normal and Oblique Orbital Debris Impacts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schonberg, William P.; Mohamed, Essam

1997-01-01

This report presents the results of a study whose objective was to develop first-principles-based models of hole size and maximum tip-to-tip crack length for a spacecraft module pressure wall that has been perforated in an orbital debris particle impact. The hole size and crack length models are developed by sequentially characterizing the phenomena comprising the orbital debris impact event, including the initial impact, the creation and motion of a debris cloud within the dual-wall system, the impact of the debris cloud on the pressure wall, the deformation of the pressure wall due to debris cloud impact loading prior to crack formation, pressure wall crack initiation, propagation, and arrest, and finally pressure wall deformation following crack initiation and growth. The model development has been accomplished through the application of elementary shock physics and thermodynamic theory, as well as the principles of mass, momentum, and energy conservation. The predictions of the model developed herein are compared against the predictions of empirically-based equations for hole diameters and maximum tip-to-tip crack length for three International Space Station wall configurations. The ISS wall systems considered are the baseline U.S. Lab Cylinder, the enhanced U.S. Lab Cylinder, and the U.S. Lab Endcone. The empirical predictor equations were derived from experimentally obtained hole diameters and crack length data. The original model predictions did not compare favorably with the experimental data, especially for cases in which pressure wall petalling did not occur. Several modifications were made to the original model to bring its predictions closer in line with the experimental results. Following the adjustment of several empirical constants, the predictions of the modified analytical model were in much closer agreement with the experimental results.

Pixel-wise deblurring imaging system based on active vision for structural health monitoring at a speed of 100 km/h

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayakawa, Tomohiko; Moko, Yushi; Morishita, Kenta; Ishikawa, Masatoshi

2018-04-01

In this paper, we propose a pixel-wise deblurring imaging (PDI) system based on active vision for compensation of the blur caused by high-speed one-dimensional motion between a camera and a target. The optical axis is controlled by back-and-forth motion of a galvanometer mirror to compensate the motion. High-spatial-resolution image captured by our system in high-speed motion is useful for efficient and precise visual inspection, such as visually judging abnormal parts of a tunnel surface to prevent accidents; hence, we applied the PDI system for structural health monitoring. By mounting the system onto a vehicle in a tunnel, we confirmed significant improvement in image quality for submillimeter black-and-white stripes and real tunnel-surface cracks at a speed of 100 km/h.

In-plane time-harmonic elastic wave motion and resonance phenomena in a layered phononic crystal with periodic cracks.

PubMed

Golub, Mikhail V; Zhang, Chuanzeng

2015-01-01

This paper presents an elastodynamic analysis of two-dimensional time-harmonic elastic wave propagation in periodically multilayered elastic composites, which are also frequently referred to as one-dimensional phononic crystals, with a periodic array of strip-like interior or interface cracks. The transfer matrix method and the boundary integral equation method in conjunction with the Bloch-Floquet theorem are applied to compute the elastic wave fields in the layered periodic composites. The effects of the crack size, spacing, and location, as well as the incidence angle and the type of incident elastic waves on the wave propagation characteristics in the composite structure are investigated in details. In particular, the band-gaps, the localization and the resonances of elastic waves are revealed by numerical examples. In order to understand better the wave propagation phenomena in layered phononic crystals with distributed cracks, the energy flow vector of Umov and the corresponding energy streamlines are visualized and analyzed. The numerical results demonstrate that large energy vortices obstruct elastic wave propagation in layered phononic crystals at resonance frequencies. They occur before the cracks reflecting most of the energy transmitted by the incoming wave and disappear when the problem parameters are shifted from the resonant ones.

Crack growth through the thickness of thin-sheet Hydrided Zircaloy-4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raynaud, Patrick A. C.

In recent years, the limits on fuel burnup have been increased to allow an increase in the amount of energy produced by a nuclear fuel assembly thus reducing waste volume and allowing greater capacity factors. As a result, it is paramount to ensure safety after longer reactor exposure times in the case of design-basis accidents, such as reactivity-initiated accidents (RIA). Previously proposed failure criteria do not directly address the particular cladding failure mechanism during a RIA, in which crack initiation in brittle outer-layers is immediately followed by crack growth through the thickness of the thin-wall tubing. In such a case, the fracture toughness of hydrided thin-wall cladding material must be known for the conditions of through-thickness crack growth in order to predict the failure of high-burnup cladding. The fracture toughness of hydrided Zircaloy-4 in the form of thin-sheet has been examined for the condition of through-thickness crack growth as a function of hydride content and distribution at 25°C, 300°C, and 375°C. To achieve this goal, an experimental procedure was developed in which a linear hydride blister formed across the width of a four-point bend specimen was used to inject a sharp crack that was subsequently extended by fatigue pre-cracking. The electrical potential drop method was used to monitor the crack length during fracture toughness testing, thus allowing for correlation of the load-displacement record with the crack length. Elastic-plastic fracture mechanics were used to interpret the experimental test results in terms of fracture toughness, and J-R crack growth resistance curves were generated. Finite element modeling was performed to adapt the classic theories of fracture mechanics applicable to thick-plate specimens to the case of through-thickness crack growth in thin-sheet materials, and to account for non-uniform crack fronts. Finally, the hydride microstructure was characterized in the vicinity of the crack tip by means of digital image processing, so as to understand the influence of the hydride microstructure on fracture toughness, at the various test temperatures. Crack growth occurred through a microstructure which varied within the thickness of the thin-sheet Zircaloy-4 such that the hydrogen concentration and the radial hydride content decreased with increasing distance from the hydride blister. At 25°C, the fracture toughness was sensitive to the changes in hydride microstructure, such that the toughness KJi decreased from 39 MPa√m to 24 MPa√m with increasing hydrogen content and increasing the fraction of radial hydrides. The hydride particles present in the Zircaloy-4 substrate fractured ahead of the crack tip, and crack growth occurred by linking the crack-tip with the next hydride-induced primary void ahead of it. Unstable crack growth was observed at 25°C prior to any stable crack growth in the specimens where the hydrogen content was the highest. At 375°C as well as in most cases at 300°C, the hydride particles were resistant to cracking and the resistance to crack-growth initiation was very high. As a result, for this bend test procedure, crack extension was solely due to crack-tip blunting instead of crack growth in all tests at 375°C and in most cases at 300°C. The lower bound for fracture toughness at these temperatures, the parameter KJPmax, had values of K JPmax˜54MPa√m at both 300°C and 375°C. For cases where stable crack growth occurred at 300°C, the fracture toughness was K Ji˜58MPa√m and the tearing modulus was twice as high as that at 25°C. It is believed that the failure of hydrided Zircaloy-4 thin-wall cladding can be predicted using fracture mechanics analyses when failure occurs by crack growth. This failure mechanism was observed to occur in all cases at 25°C and in some cases at 300°C. However, at more elevated temperatures, such as 375°C, failure will likely occur by a mechanism other than crack growth, possibly by an imperfection-induced shear instability.

The effect of unstable sandals on instability in gait in healthy female subjects.

PubMed

Price, Carina; Smith, Laura; Graham-Smith, Philip; Jones, Richard

2013-07-01

Unstable footwear generally lacks thorough peer-review published research to support concepts and marketing claims. The purpose of this study was to investigate the instability induced by four (FitFlop, Masai Barefoot Technology, Reebok Easy-Tone and Skechers Tone-Ups) commercially available unstable sandals and one stable control sandal (Earth) in walking in 15 females (mean±SD age was 29±6.7 years, mass 62.6±6.9kg and height 167.1±4.2cm). Three-dimensional motion with synchronised electromyography and kinetic data were collected. Walking speed and step length remained consistent between conditions, however double support time decreased in Masai Barefoot Technology. Centre of pressure data identified no consistent difference between the stable control and the unstable sandals, however Masai Barefoot Technology reduced the anterior-posterior range of centre of pressure. Muscle activity differed significantly at the ankle in the unstable footwear. FitFlop, Reebok and Skechers increased peroneal activity during pre-swing, whereas Masai Barefoot Technology increased medial gastrocnemius and decreased tibialis anterior activity in loading response and mid-stance. The larger rocker sole of the Masai Barefoot Technology altered gait and muscle activation with regard to braking and progression in the sagittal plane. Reebok, Skechers and FitFlop, with softer, less stable foreparts increased evertor action at toe-off, having their effect in the coronal plane. The study highlighted that any instability induced by the shoes is design-specific. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Neuromuscular adjustments of gait associated with unstable conditions

PubMed Central

Ivanenko, Y. P.; d'Avella, A.; Serrao, M.; Ranavolo, A.; Draicchio, F.; Cappellini, G.; Casali, C.; Lacquaniti, F.

2015-01-01

A compact description of coordinated muscle activity is provided by the factorization of electromyographic (EMG) signals. With the use of this approach, it has consistently been shown that multimuscle activity during human locomotion can be accounted for by four to five modules, each one comprised of a basic pattern timed at a different phase of gait cycle and the weighting coefficients of synergistic muscle activations. These modules are flexible, in so far as the timing of patterns and the amplitude of weightings can change as a function of gait speed and mode. Here we consider the adjustments of the locomotor modules related to unstable walking conditions. We compared three different conditions, i.e., locomotion of healthy subjects on slippery ground (SL) and on narrow beam (NB) and of cerebellar ataxic (CA) patients on normal ground. Motor modules were computed from the EMG signals of 12 muscles of the right lower limb using non-negative matrix factorization. The unstable gait of SL, NB, and CA showed significant changes compared with controls in the stride length, stride width, range of angular motion, and trunk oscillations. In most subjects of all three unstable conditions, >70% of the overall variation of EMG waveforms was accounted for by four modules that were characterized by a widening of muscle activity patterns. This suggests that the nervous system adopts the strategy of prolonging the duration of basic muscle activity patterns to cope with unstable conditions resulting from either slippery ground, reduced support surface, or pathology. PMID:26378199

Stability of cosmological deflagration fronts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mégevand, Ariel; Membiela, Federico Agustín

2014-05-01

In a cosmological first-order phase transition, bubbles of the stable phase nucleate and expand in the supercooled metastable phase. In many cases, the growth of bubbles reaches a stationary state, with bubble walls propagating as detonations or deflagrations. However, these hydrodynamical solutions may be unstable under corrugation of the interface. Such instability may drastically alter some of the cosmological consequences of the phase transition. Here, we study the hydrodynamical stability of deflagration fronts. We improve upon previous studies by making a more careful and detailed analysis. In particular, we take into account the fact that the equation of motion for the phase interface depends separately on the temperature and fluid velocity on each side of the wall. Fluid variables on each side of the wall are similar for weakly first-order phase transitions, but differ significantly for stronger phase transitions. As a consequence, we find that, for large enough supercooling, any subsonic wall velocity becomes unstable. Moreover, as the velocity approaches the speed of sound, perturbations become unstable on all wavelengths. For smaller supercooling and small wall velocities, our results agree with those of previous works. Essentially, perturbations on large wavelengths are unstable, unless the wall velocity is higher than a critical value. We also find a previously unobserved range of marginally unstable wavelengths. We analyze the dynamical relevance of the instabilities, and we estimate the characteristic time and length scales associated with their growth. We discuss the implications for the electroweak phase transition and its cosmological consequences.

Preventing Jupiter's Great Red Spot from Turning Itself Inside-Out

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shetty, Sushil; Asay-Davis, Xylar; Marcus, Philip

2002-11-01

Previous simulations of Jupiter's Great Red Spot (GRS) have failed to reproduce its most prominent feature: its hollowness. Unlike most laboratory 2D vortices, where vorticity is peaked at the center, the GRS has nearly no fluid motion in its interior. The coherent fluid motion is confined to a narrow ring at the outer edge of the GRS that moves counter-clockwise around the vortex. Simulations show that isolated 2D vortices that are as hollow as the GRS are violently unstable, turning themselves inside-out within a few rotations of the vortex. How than can one explain the long-lived, stable GRS? The answer is that the GRS is not isolated but instead embedded in a system of east-west jet streams. The eastward jet streams correspond to strong (potential) vorticity gradients which act as guides for Rossby waves. We show that the interaction between the GRS and the Rossby waves stabilize the GRS. Furthermore, we show that the hollowness of the GRS is near its critical limit, so that if it were any more hollow it would become unstable. We suggest a plausible mechanism through which this critical hollowness is maintained.

Boundary singularities produced by the motion of soap films.

PubMed

Goldstein, Raymond E; McTavish, James; Moffatt, H Keith; Pesci, Adriana I

2014-06-10

Recent work has shown that a Möbius strip soap film rendered unstable by deforming its frame changes topology to that of a disk through a "neck-pinching" boundary singularity. This behavior is unlike that of the catenoid, which transitions to two disks through a bulk singularity. It is not yet understood whether the type of singularity is generally a consequence of the surface topology, nor how this dependence could arise from an equation of motion for the surface. To address these questions we investigate experimentally, computationally, and theoretically the route to singularities of soap films with different topologies, including a family of punctured Klein bottles. We show that the location of singularities (bulk or boundary) may depend on the path of the boundary deformation. In the unstable regime the driving force for soap-film motion is the mean curvature. Thus, the narrowest part of the neck, associated with the shortest nontrivial closed geodesic of the surface, has the highest curvature and is the fastest moving. Just before onset of the instability there exists on the stable surface the shortest closed geodesic, which is the initial condition for evolution of the neck's geodesics, all of which have the same topological relationship to the frame. We make the plausible conjectures that if the initial geodesic is linked to the boundary, then the singularity will occur at the boundary, whereas if the two are unlinked initially, then the singularity will occur in the bulk. Numerical study of mean curvature flows and experiments support these conjectures.

Laser-based welding of 17-4 PH martensitic stainless steel in a tubular butt joint configuration with a built-in backing bar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Junjie; Atabaki, Mehdi Mazar; Liu, Wei; Pillai, Raju; Kumar, Biju; Vasudevan, Unnikrishnan; Kovacevic, Radovan

2016-08-01

Laser-based welding of thick 17-4 precipitation hardening (PH) martensitic stainless steel (SS) plates in a tubular butt joint configuration with a built-in backing bar is very challenging because the porosity and cracks are easily generated in the welds. The backing bar blocked the keyhole opening at the bottom surface through which the entrapped gas could escape, and the keyhole was unstable and collapsed overtime in a deep partially penetrated welding conditions resulting in the formation of pores easily. Moreover, the fast cooling rate prompted the ferrite transform to austenite which induced cracking. Two-pass welding procedure was developed to join 17-4 PH martensitic SS. The laser welding assisted by a filler wire, as the first pass, was used to weld the groove shoulder. The added filler wire could absorb a part of the laser beam energy; resulting in the decreased weld depth-to-width ratio and relieved intensive restraint at the weld root. A hybrid laser-arc welding or a gas metal arc welding (GMAW) was used to fill the groove as the second pass. Nitrogen was introduced to stabilize the keyhole and mitigate the porosity. Preheating was used to decrease the cooling rate and mitigate the cracking during laser-based welding of 17-4 PH martensitic SS plates.

A comparative evaluation of dental luting cements by fracture toughness tests and fractography.

PubMed

Ryan, A K; Orr, J F; Mitchell, C A

2001-01-01

In recent years there has been a shift from traditional methods of investigating dental materials to a fracture mechanics approach. Fracture toughness (KIC) is an intrinsic material property which can be considered to be a measure of a material's resistance to crack propagation. Glass-ionomer cements are biocompatible and bioactive dental restorative materials, but they suffer from poor fracture toughness and are extremely susceptible to dehydration. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the fracture toughness of three types of commercially available dental cements (polyacid-modified composite resin, resin-modified and conventional glass ionomer) using a short-rod chevron-notch test and to investigate and interpret the results by means of fractography using scanning electron microscopy. Ten specimens of each cement were fabricated according to manufacturers' instructions, coated in varnish, and stored at ambient laboratory humidity, 100 per cent relative humidity, or in water at 37 degrees C for 7 days prior to preparation for testing. Results indicated that significant differences existed between each group of materials and that the fracture toughness ranged from 0.27 to 0.72 MN/m3/2. It was concluded that the resin-modified glass-ionomer cement demonstrated the highest resistance to crack propagation. Fractographs clearly showed areas of stable and unstable crack growth along the fractured surfaces for the three materials examined.

Pendulum motions of extended lunar space elevator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burov, A. A.; Kosenko, I. I.

2014-09-01

In the usual everyday life, it is well known that the inverted pendulum is unstable and is ready to fall to "all four sides," to the left and to the right, forward and backward. The theoretical studies and the lunar experience of moon robots and astronauts also confirms this property. The question arises: Is this property preserved if the pendulum is "very, very long"? It turns out that the answer is negative; namely, if the pendulum length significantly exceeds the Moon radius, then the radial equilibria at which the pendulum is located along the straight line connecting the Earth and Moon centers are Lyapunov stable and the pendulum does not fall in any direction at all. Moreover, if the pendulum goes beyond the collinear libration points, then it can be extended and manufactured from cables. This property was noted by F. A. Tsander and underlies the so-called lunar space elevator (e.g., see [1]). In the plane of the Earth and Moon orbits, there are some other equilibria which turn out to be unstable. The question is, Are there equilibria at which the pendulum is located outside the orbital plane? In this paper, we show that the answer is positive, but such equilibria are unstable in the secular sense. We also study necessary conditions for the stability of lunar pendulum oscillations in the plane of the lunar orbit. It was numerically discovered that stable and unstable equilibria alternate depending on the oscillation amplitude and the angular velocity of rotation. The study of the lunar elevator dynamics originates in [2]. The concept of lunar elevator was developed in detail in [3, 4]. Several classes of equilibria with the finiteness of the Moon size taken into account were studied in [5]. The possibility of location of an orbital station fixed to the Moon surface by a pair of tethers was investigated in [6]. The problem of orientation of the terminal station of the lunar space elevator was studied in [7]. The influence of the tether length variations on the motion of the lunar tether system was considered in [8]. The alternation of stable and unstable flat oscillations is well known in the problem of satellite oscillations in a circular orbit [9, 10].

Interface failure modes explain non-monotonic size-dependent mechanical properties in bioinspired nanolaminates.

PubMed

Song, Z Q; Ni, Y; Peng, L M; Liang, H Y; He, L H

2016-03-31

Bioinspired discontinuous nanolaminate design becomes an efficient way to mitigate the strength-ductility tradeoff in brittle materials via arresting the crack at the interface followed by controllable interface failure. The analytical solution and numerical simulation based on the nonlinear shear-lag model indicates that propagation of the interface failure can be unstable or stable when the interfacial shear stress between laminae is uniform or highly localized, respectively. A dimensionless key parameter defined by the ratio of two characteristic lengths governs the transition between the two interface-failure modes, which can explain the non-monotonic size-dependent mechanical properties observed in various laminate composites.

Motions in the interiors and atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn. II - Barotropic instabilities and normal modes of an adiabatic planet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ingersoll, A. P.; Miller, R. L.

1986-01-01

A rotating and adiabatic inviscid fluid planet possesses low frequency motions that are barotropic, quasi-geostrophic and quasi-columnar. The limiting curvature at which flow becomes unstable upon projection onto the planetary surface is negative, with an amplitude that is 3-4 times that for thin atmospheres, in planets in which density linearly decreases to zero at the surface. This result is shown to hold for all quasi-columnar perturbations. Both the phase speed of the normal mode oscillations and the barotropic stability criterion have features in common with Saturn and Jupiter oscillations.

The effect of small streamwise velocity distortion on the boundary layer flow over a thin flat plate with application to boundary layer stability theory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goldstein, M. E.; Leib, S. J.; Cowley, S. J.

1990-01-01

Researchers show how an initially linear spanwise disturbance in the free stream velocity field is amplified by leading edge bluntness effects and ultimately leads to a small amplitude but linear spanwise motion far downstream from the edge. This spanwise motion is imposed on the boundary layer flow and ultimately causes an order-one change in its profile shape. The modified profiles are highly unstable and can support Tollmein-Schlichting wave growth well upstream of the theoretical lower branch of the neutral stability curve for a Blasius boundary layer.

On a model of the processes of maintaining a technological area by a manipulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghukasyan, A. A.; Ordyan, A. Ya

2018-04-01

The research refers to the results of mathematical modeling of the process of maintaining a technological area which consists of unstable or fixed objects (targets) and a controlled multi-link manipulator [1–9]. It is assumed that, in the maintenance process, the dynamic characteristics and the phase vector of the manipulator state can change at certain finite times depending on the mass of the cargo or instrument [10, 11]. Some controllability problems are investigated in the case where the manipulator motion on each maintenance interval is described by linear differential equations with constant coefficients and the motions of the objects are given.

Motion compensated image processing and optimal parameters for egg crack detection using modified pressure

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Shell eggs with microcracks are often undetected during egg grading processes. In the past, a modified pressure imaging system was developed to detect eggs with microcracks without adversely affecting the quality of normal intact eggs. The basic idea of the modified pressure imaging system was to ap...

Geotechnical Site Investigation Using S-waves with Implications for Ground Motion Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hassan, Bilal; Butt, Stephen D.; Hurich, Charles A.

2017-12-01

Evaluation results of shear wave attenuation-based ground motion restricted by fracture orientation and rheology, from among those of an extended experimental study, are presented herein. The issues of competence of fractured bedrock dynamically disturbed multilaterally are assessed. Disturbance is primarily modelled by Sh and Sv stimulation, given fracture orientation, while subjected to direct fracture stress regime conditions varying in time. Hence, directionalities of polarisation and stress are taken into consideration simultaneously following simple site-specific non-erodetic approach. Comparison of spectral curves and spectral ratio curves of attenuation with respect to variations of direction and stress emphasise the amplification of the `seismic response' in one direction compared to the other, i.e. vertical vs. horizontal, in terms of weighing possibilities of or predicting structural integrity against failure. The composite analyses of multiple spectral curves not only enable determination of the orientation of the fracture set/s in space but also allow inferring the nature of more amplified response perpendicular to the crack surface compared to that of a response parallel to the crack surface.

Wave energy trapping and localization in a plate with a delamination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glushkov, Evgeny; Glushkova, Natalia; Golub, Mikhail V.; Moll, Jochen; Fritzen, Claus-Peter

2012-12-01

The research aims at an experimental approval of the trapping mode effect theoretically predicted for an elastic plate-like structure with a horizontal crack. The effect is featured by a sharp capture of incident wave energy at certain resonance frequencies with its localization between the crack and plate surfaces in the form of energy vortices yielding long-enduring standing waves. The trapping modes are eigensolutions of the related diffraction problem associated with nearly real complex points of its discrete frequency spectrum. To detect such resonance motion, a laser vibrometer based system has been employed for the acquisition and appropriate visualization of piezoelectrically actuated out-of-plane surface motion of a two-layer aluminum plate with an artificial strip-like delamination. The measurements at resonance and off-resonance frequencies have revealed a time-harmonic oscillation of good quality above the delamination in the resonance case. It lasts for a long time after the scattered waves have left that area. The measured frequency of the trapped standing-wave oscillation is in a good agreement with that predicted using the integral equation based mathematical model.

Characterization of turbulence stability through the identification of multifractional Brownian motions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, K. C.

2013-02-01

Multifractional Brownian motions have become popular as flexible models in describing real-life signals of high-frequency features in geoscience, microeconomics, and turbulence, to name a few. The time-changing Hurst exponent, which describes regularity levels depending on time measurements, and variance, which relates to an energy level, are two parameters that characterize multifractional Brownian motions. This research suggests a combined method of estimating the time-changing Hurst exponent and variance using the local variation of sampled paths of signals. The method consists of two phases: initially estimating global variance and then accurately estimating the time-changing Hurst exponent. A simulation study shows its performance in estimation of the parameters. The proposed method is applied to characterization of atmospheric stability in which descriptive statistics from the estimated time-changing Hurst exponent and variance classify stable atmosphere flows from unstable ones.

Palpation simulator with stable haptic feedback.

PubMed

Kim, Sang-Youn; Ryu, Jee-Hwan; Lee, WooJeong

2015-01-01

The main difficulty in constructing palpation simulators is to compute and to generate stable and realistic haptic feedback without vibration. When a user haptically interacts with highly non-homogeneous soft tissues through a palpation simulator, a sudden change of stiffness in target tissues causes unstable interaction with the object. We propose a model consisting of a virtual adjustable damper and an energy measuring element. The energy measuring element gauges energy which is stored in a palpation simulator and the virtual adjustable damper dissipates the energy to achieve stable haptic interaction. To investigate the haptic behavior of the proposed method, impulse and continuous inputs are provided to target tissues. If a haptic interface point meets with the hardest portion in the target tissues modeled with a conventional method, we observe unstable motion and feedback force. However, when the target tissues are modeled with the proposed method, a palpation simulator provides stable interaction without vibration. The proposed method overcomes a problem in conventional haptic palpation simulators where unstable force or vibration can be generated if there is a big discrepancy in material property between an element and its neighboring elements in target tissues.

Dynamical properties of nematic liquid crystals subjected to shear flow and magnetic fields: tumbling instability and nonequilibrium fluctuations.

PubMed

Fatriansyah, Jaka Fajar; Orihara, Hiroshi

2013-07-01

We investigate the dynamical properties of monodomain nematic liquid crystals under shear flow and magnetic fields on the basis of the Ericksen-Leslie theory. Stable and unstable states appear depending on the magnetic field and the shear rate. The trajectory of the unstable state shows tumbling motion. The phase diagram of these states is plotted as a function of the three components of the magnetic field at a constant shear rate. The phase diagram changes depending on the viscous properties of different types of nematic liquid crystals. In this nonequilibrium steady state, we calculate the correlation function of director fluctuations and the response function, and discuss the nonequilibrium fluctuations and the modified fluctuation-dissipation relation in connection with nonconservative forces due to shear flow.

Air motion determination by tracking humidity patterns in isentropic layers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mancuso, R. L.; Hall, D. J.

1975-01-01

Determining air motions by tracking humidity patterns in isentropic layers was investigated. Upper-air rawinsonde data from the NSSL network and from the AVE-II pilot experiment were used to simulate temperature and humidity profile data that will eventually be available from geosynchronous satellites. Polynomial surfaces that move with time were fitted to the mixing-ratio values of the different isentropic layers. The velocity components of the polynomial surfaces are part of the coefficients that are determined in order to give an optimum fitting of the data. In the mid-troposphere, the derived humidity motions were in good agreement with the winds measured by rawinsondes so long as there were few or no clouds and the lapse rate was relatively stable. In the lower troposphere, the humidity motions were unreliable primarily because of nonadiabatic processes and unstable lapse rates. In the upper troposphere, the humidity amounts were too low to be measured with sufficient accuracy to give reliable results. However, it appears that humidity motions could be used to provide mid-tropospheric wind data over large regions of the globe.

A Crack Closure Model and Its Application to Vibrothermography Nondestructive Evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schiefelbein, Bryan Edward

Vibrothermography nondestructive evaluation (NDE) is in the early stages of research and development, and there exists uncertainty in the fundamental mechanisms and processes by which heat generation occurs. Holland et al. have developed a set of tools which simulate and predict the outcome of a vibrothermography inspection by breaking the inspection into three distinct processes: vibrational excitation, heat generation, and thermal imaging. The stage of vibrothermography which is not well understood is the process by which vibrations are converted to heat at the crack surface. It has been shown that crack closure and closure state impact the resulting heat generation. Despite this, research into the link between partial crack closure and vibrothermography is limited. This work seeks to rectify this gap in knowledge by modeling the behavior of a partially closed crack in response to static external loading and a dynamic vibration. The residual strains left by the plastic wake during fatigue crack growth manifest themselves as contact stresses acting at the crack surface interface. In response to an applied load below the crack opening stress, the crack closure state will evolve, but the crack will remain partially closed. The crack closure model developed in this work is based in linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) and describes the behavior of a partially closed crack in response to a tensile external load and non-uniform closure stress distribution. The model builds on work by Fleck to describe the effective length, crack opening displacement, and crack tip stress field for a partially closed crack. These quantities are solved for by first establishing an equilibrium condition which governs the effective or apparent length of the partially closed crack. The equilibrium condition states that, under any external or crack surface loading, the effective crack tip will be located where the effective stress intensity factor is zero. In LEFM, this is equivalent to saying that the effective crack tip is located where the stress singularity vanishes. If the closure stresses are unknown, the model provides an algorithm with which to solve for the distribution, given measurements of the effective crack length as a function of external load. Within literature, a number of heating mechanisms have been proposed as being dominant in vibrothermography. These include strain hysteresis, adhesion hysteresis, plastic flow, thermoelasticity, and sliding friction. Based on experimental observation and theory, this work eliminates strain hysteresis, thermoelasticity, and plastic flow as plausible heating mechanisms. This leaves friction and adhesion hysteresis as the only plausible mechanisms. Frictional heating is based on the classical Coulomb friction model, while adhesion hysteresis heating comes from irreversibility in surface adhesion. Adhesion hysteresis only satisfies the experimental observation that heating vanishes for high compressive loading if surface roughness and the instability of surface adhesion is considered. By understanding the fundamental behavior of a partially closed crack in response to non-uniform loading, and the link between crack surface motion and heat generation, we are one step closer to a fully predictive vibrothermography heat generation model. Future work is needed to extend the crack closure model to a two-dimensional semi-elliptical surface crack and better understand the distinction between frictional and adhesion heating.

The effect of different unstable footwear constructions on centre of pressure motion during standing.

PubMed

Plom, W; Strike, S C; Taylor, M J D

2014-06-01

The aim of this study was to test the effect different unstable footwear constructions have on centre of pressure motion when standing. Sixteen young female volunteers were tested in five conditions, three unstable footwear (Reebok Easy-Tone, FitFlop and Skechers Shape-Ups), a standard shoe and barefoot in a randomised order. Double and single leg balance on a force plate was assessed via centre of pressure excursions and displacements in each condition. For double leg and single leg standing centre of pressure excursions in the anterior-posterior direction were significantly increased wearing Skechers Shape-Ups compared to barefoot and the standard shoe. For the Reebok Easy Tone during single leg standing excursions in the anterior-posterior direction were significantly greater compared to the barefoot condition. Cumulative displacement of the centre of pressure in medial-lateral direction increased significantly during single leg standing when wearing Skechers Shape-Ups compared to barefoot and standard shoe as well as for Reebok Easy Tone vs. barefoot. It would appear from these quiet standing results that the manner of the construction of instability shoes effects the CoP movement which is associated with induced instability. Greater CoP excursion occurred in the A-P direction while the cumulative displacements were greater in the M-L direction for those shoes with the rounded sole and soft foam and those with airpods. The shoe construction with altered density foam did not induce any change in the CoP movement, during quite standing, which tends to suggest that it is not effective at inducing balance. Not all instability shoes are effective in altering the overall instability of the wearer. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Early Weightbearing and Range of Motion Versus Non-Weightbearing and Immobilization After Open Reduction and Internal Fixation of Unstable Ankle Fractures: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Dehghan, Niloofar; McKee, Michael D; Jenkinson, Richard J; Schemitsch, Emil H; Stas, Venessa; Nauth, Aaron; Hall, Jeremy A; Stephen, David J; Kreder, Hans J

2016-07-01

The aim of this study was to compare early weightbearing and range of motion (ROM) to nonweightbearing and immobilization in a cast after surgical fixation of unstable ankle fractures. Multicentre randomized controlled trial. Two-level one trauma centers. One hundred ten patients who underwent open reduction and internal fixation of an unstable ankle fracture were recruited and randomized. One of 2 rehabilitation protocols: (1) Early weightbearing (weightbearing and ROM at 2 weeks, Early WB) or (2) Late weightbearing (nonweightbearing and cast immobilization for 6 weeks, Late WB). The primary outcome measure was time to return to work (RTW). Secondary outcome measures included: ankle ROM, SF-36 heath outcome scores, Olerud/Molander ankle function score, and rates of complications. There was no difference in RTW. At 6 weeks postoperatively, patients in the Early WB group had significantly improved ankle ROM (41 vs. 29, P < 0.0001); Olerud/Molander ankle function scores (45 vs. 32, P = 0.0007), and SF-36 scores on both the physical (51 vs. 42, P = 0.008) and mental (66 vs. 54, P = 0.0008) components. There were no differences with regard to wound complications or infections and no cases of fixation failure or loss of reduction. Patients in the Late WB group had higher rates of planned/performed hardware removal due to plate irritation (19% vs. 2%, P = 0.005). Given the convenience for the patient, early improved functional outcome, and the lack of an increased complication rate, we recommend early postoperative weightbearing and ROM in patients with surgically treated ankle fractures. Therapeutic Level I. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Angular Stable Miniplate Fixation of Chronic Unstable Scaphoid Nonunion.

PubMed

Schormans, Philip M J; Brink, Peter R G; Poeze, Martijn; Hannemann, Pascal F W

2018-02-01

Background  Around 5 to 15% of all scaphoid fractures result in nonunion. Treatment of long-lasting scaphoid nonunion remains a challenge for the treating surgeon. Healing of scaphoid nonunion is essential for prevention of scaphoid nonunion advanced collapse and the subsequent predictable pattern of radiocarpal osteoarthritis. Purpose  The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of fixation of the scaphoid nonunion with a volar angular stable miniplate and cancellous bone grafting. We hypothesized that this technique could be successful, even in patients with previous surgery for nonunion and in patients with a long duration of nonunion. Patients and Methods  A total of 21 patients enrolled in a single-center prospective cohort study. Healing of nonunion was assessed on multiplanar computed tomography scan of the wrist at a 3-month interval. Functional outcome was assessed by measuring grip strength, range of motion, and by means of the patient-rated wrist and hand evaluation (PRWHE) questionnaire. Results  During follow-up, 19 out of 21 patients (90%) showed radiological healing of the nonunion. The range of motion did not improve significantly. Postoperative PRWHE scores decreased by 34 points. Healing occurred regardless of the length of time of the nonunion (range: 6-183 months) and regardless of previous surgery (38% of patients). Conclusion  Volar angular stable miniplate fixation with autologous cancellous bone grafting is a successful technique for the treatment of chronic unstable scaphoid nonunion, even in patients with long-lasting nonunion and in patients who underwent previous surgery for a scaphoid fracture. Rotational interfragmentary stability might be an important determining factor for the successful treatment of unstable scaphoid nonunion. Level of Evidence  Level IV.

A cloud model simulation of space shuttle exhaust clouds in different atmospheric conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, C.; Zak, J. A.

1989-01-01

A three-dimensional cloud model was used to characterize the dominant influence of the environment on the Space Shuttle exhaust cloud. The model was modified to accept the actual heat and moisture from rocket exhausts and deluge water as initial conditions. An upper-air sounding determined the ambient atmosphere in which the cloud could grow. The model was validated by comparing simulated clouds with observed clouds from four actual Shuttle launches. The model successfully produced clouds with dimensions, rise, decay, liquid water contents and vertical motion fields very similar to observed clouds whose dimensions were calculated from 16 mm film frames. Once validated, the model was used in a number of different atmospheric conditions ranging from very unstable to very stable. In moist, unstable atmospheres simulated clouds rose to about 3.5 km in the first 4 to 8 minutes then decayed. Liquid water contents ranged from 0.3 to 1.0 g kg-1 mixing ratios and vertical motions were from 2 to 10 ms-1. An inversion served both to reduce entrainment (and erosion) at the top and to prevent continued cloud rise. Even in the most unstable atmospheres, the ground cloud did not rise beyond 4 km and in stable atmospheres with strong low level inversions the cloud could be trapped below 500 m. Wind shear strongly affected the appearance of both the ground cloud and vertical column cloud. The ambient low-level atmospheric moisture governed the amount of cloud water in model clouds. Some dry atmospheres produced little or no cloud water. One case of a simulated TITAN rocket explosion is also discussed.

Surface Waves and Flow-Induced Oscillations along an Underground Elliptic Cylinder Filled with a Viscous Fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakuraba, A.

2015-12-01

I made a linear analysis of flow-induced oscillations along an underground cylindrical conduit with an elliptical cross section on the basis of the hypothesis that volcanic tremor is a result of magma movement through a conduit. As a first step to understand how the self oscillation occurs because of magma flow, I investigated surface wave propagation and attenuation along an infinitely long fluid-filled elliptic cylinder in an elastic medium. The boundary element method is used to obtain the two-dimensional wave field around the ellipse in the frequency-wavenumber domain. When the major axis is much greater than the minor axis of the ellipse, we obtain the analytic form of the dispersion relation of both the crack-wave mode (Korneev 2008, Lipovsky & Dunham 2015) and the Rayleigh-wave mode with flexural deformation. The crack-wave mode generally has a slower phase speed and a higher attenuation than the Rayleigh-wave mode. In the long-wavelength limit, the crack-wave mode disappears because of fluid viscosity, but the Rayleigh-wave mode exists with a constant Q-value that depends on viscosity. When the aspect ratio of the ellipse is finite, the surface waves can basically be understood as those propagating along a fluid pipe. The flexural mode does exist even when the wavelength is much longer than the major axis, but its phase speed coincides with that of the surrounding S-wave (Randall 1991). As its attenuation is zero in the long-wavelength limit, the flexural mode differs in nature from surface wave. I also obtain a result on linear stability of viscous flow through an elliptic cylinder. In this analysis, I made an assumption that the fluid inertia is so small that the Stokes equation can be used. As suggested by the author's previous study (Sakuraba & Yamauchi 2014), the flexural (Rayleigh-wave) mode is destabilized at a critical flow speed that decreases with the wavelength. However, when the wavelength is much greater than the major axis of the ellipse, the unstable solution does exist, but its linear growth rate in amplitude becomes almost zero. Therefore, the unstable solution effectively disappears in the long-wavelength limit, suggesting that the aspect ratio of the conduit is needed to be sufficiently large if the flow-induced oscillation caused by a moderate magma speed is an origin of volcanic tremor.

Subevents of long-period seismicity: implications for hydrothermal dynamics during the 2004-2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens

USGS Publications Warehouse

Matoza, Robin S.; Chouet, Bernard A.

2010-01-01

One of the most striking aspects of seismicity during the 2004–2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens (MSH) was the precise regularity in occurrence of repetitive long-period (LP) or “drumbeat” events over sustained time periods. However, this precise regularity was not always observed, and at times the temporal occurrence of LP events became more random. In addition, accompanying the dominant LP class of events during the 2004–2008 MSH eruption, there was a near-continuous, randomly occurring series of smaller seismic events. These subevents are not always simply small-amplitude versions of the dominant LP class of events but appear instead to result from a separate random process only loosely coupled to the main LP source mechanism. We present an analysis of the interevent time and amplitude distributions of the subevents, using waveform cross correlation to separate LP events from the subevents. We also discuss seismic tremor that accompanied the 8 March 2005 phreatic explosion event at MSH. This tremor consists of a rapid succession of LPs and subevents triggered during the explosion, in addition to broadband noise from the sustained degassing. Immediately afterward, seismicity returned to the pre-explosion occurrence pattern. This triggering in relation to the rapid ejection of steam from the system, and subsequent return to pre-explosion seismicity, suggests that both seismic event types originated in a region of the subsurface hydrothermal system that was (1) in contact with the reservoir feeding the 8 March 2005 phreatic explosion but (2) not destroyed or drained by the explosion event. Finally, we discuss possible thermodynamic conditions in a pressurized hydrothermal crack that could give rise to seismicity. Pressure drop estimates for typical LP events are not generally large enough to perturb pure water in a shallow hydrothermal crack into an unstable state. However, dissolved volatiles such as CO2 may lead to a more unstable system, increasing the seismogenic potential of a hydrothermal crack subject to rapid heat flux. The interaction of hydrothermal and magmatic systems beneath MSH in 2004–2008 thus appears able to explain a wide range of observed phenomena, including subevents, LP events, larger (Md > 2) events, and phreatic explosions.

Fatigue damage assessment of high-usage in-service aircraft fuselage structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mosinyi, Bao Rasebolai

As the commercial and military aircraft fleets continue to age, there is a growing concern that multiple-site damage (MSD) can compromise structural integrity. Multiple site damage is the simultaneous occurrence of many small cracks at independent structural locations, and is the natural result of fatigue, corrosion, fretting and other possible damage mechanisms. These MSD cracks may linkup and form a fatigue lead crack of critical length. The presence of MSD also reduces the structure's ability to withstand longer cracks. The objective of the current study is to assess, both experimentally and analytically, MSD formation and growth in the lap joint of curved panels removed from a retired aircraft. A Boeing 727-232 airplane owned and operated by Delta Air Lines, and retired at its design service goal, was selected for the study. Two panels removed from the left-hand side of the fuselage crown, near stringer 4L, were subjected to extended fatigue testing using the Full-Scale Aircraft Structural Test Evaluation and Research (FASTER) facility located at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) William J. Hughes Technical Center. The state of MSD was continuously assessed using several nondestructive inspection (NDI) methods. Damage to the load attachment points of the first panel resulted in termination of the fatigue test at 43,500 fatigue cycles, before cracks had developed in the lap joint. The fatigue test for the second panel was initially conducted under simulated in-service loading conditions for 120,000 cycles, and no cracks were detected in the skin of the panel test section. Artificial damage was then introduced into the panel at selected rivets in the critical (lower) rivet row, and the fatigue loads were increased. Visually detectable crack growth from the artificial notches was first seen after 133,000 cycles. The resulting lead crack grew along the lower rivet row, eventually forming an 11.8" long unstable crack after 141,771 cycles, at which point the test was terminated. Posttest fractograpic examinations of the crack surfaces were conducted, revealing the presence of subsurface MSD at the critical rivet row of the lap joint. Special attention was also given to the stringer clips that attach the fuselage frames to the stringers, since they also experienced cracking during the fatigue tests. The performance of the different conventional and emerging NDI methods was also assessed, and some of the emerging NDI methods were quite effective in detecting and measuring the length of subsurface cracks. Delta Air Lines conducted a separate destructive investigation on the state of damage along the right-hand side of the fuselage, near stringer 4R. A comparison of these two studies showed that the lap joint on the left hand-side of the aircraft, along stringer 4L, had better fatigue life than the one on the opposite side, along stringer 4R. The cause of the difference in fatigue life was investigated by close examination of the rivet installation qualities, and was found to be a result of better rivet installation along the lap joint at stringer 4L. Finite element models for both the skin and substructures of the panels were developed and geometrically nonlinear finite element analyses were conducted to verify the loading conditions and to determine near-field parameters governing MSD initiation and growth. Fatigue crack growth predictions based on the NASGRO equation were in good agreement with the experimental crack growth data for through-the-thickness cracks. For subsurface cracks, simulation of crack growth was found to correlate better with fractography data when an empirical crack growth model was used. The results of the study contribute to the understanding of the initiation and growth of MSD in the inner skin layer of a lap joint, and provide valuable data for the evaluation and validation of analytical methodologies to predict MSD initiation and growth and a better understanding on the effect of manufacturing quality on damage accumulation along the lap joint.

Effects of Vacancy Concentration and Temperature on Mechanical Properties of Single-Crystal γ-TiAl Based on Molecular Dynamics Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruicheng, Feng; Hui, Cao; Haiyan, Li; Zhiyuan, Rui; Changfeng, Yan

2018-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulation is used to analyze tensile strength and elastic modulus under different temperatures and vacancy concentrations. The effects of temperature and vacancy concentration on the mechanical properties of γ-TiAl alloy are investigated. The results show that the ultimate stress, ultimate strain and elastic modulus decrease nonlinearly with increasing temperature and vacancy concentration. As the temperature increases, the plastic of material is reinforced. The influence of temperature on strength and elastic modulus is larger than that of vacancy concentration. The evolution process of vacancy could be observed clearly. Furthermore, vacancies with different concentrations develop into voids first as a function of external forces or other factors, micro cracks evolve from those voids, those micro cracks then converge to a macro crack, and fracture will finally occur. The vacancy evolution process cannot be observed clearly owing to the thermal motion of atoms at high temperature. In addition, potential energy is affected by both temperature and vacancy concentration.

Damage identification via asymmetric active magnetic bearing acceleration feedback control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Jie; DeSmidt, Hans; Yao, Wei

2015-04-01

A Floquet-based damage detection methodology for cracked rotor systems is developed and demonstrated on a shaft-disk system. This approach utilizes measured changes in the system natural frequencies to estimate the severity and location of shaft structural cracks during operation. The damage detection algorithms are developed with the initial guess solved by least square method and iterative damage parameter vector by updating the eigenvector updating. Active Magnetic Bearing is introduced to break the symmetric structure of rotor system and the tuning range of proper stiffness/virtual mass gains is studied. The system model is built based on energy method and the equations of motion are derived by applying assumed modes method and Lagrange Principle. In addition, the crack model is based on the Strain Energy Release Rate (SERR) concept in fracture mechanics. Finally, the method is synthesized via harmonic balance and numerical examples for a shaft/disk system demonstrate the effectiveness in detecting both location and severity of the structural damage.

Boundary singularities produced by the motion of soap films

PubMed Central

Goldstein, Raymond E.; McTavish, James; Moffatt, H. Keith; Pesci, Adriana I.

2014-01-01

Recent work has shown that a Möbius strip soap film rendered unstable by deforming its frame changes topology to that of a disk through a “neck-pinching” boundary singularity. This behavior is unlike that of the catenoid, which transitions to two disks through a bulk singularity. It is not yet understood whether the type of singularity is generally a consequence of the surface topology, nor how this dependence could arise from an equation of motion for the surface. To address these questions we investigate experimentally, computationally, and theoretically the route to singularities of soap films with different topologies, including a family of punctured Klein bottles. We show that the location of singularities (bulk or boundary) may depend on the path of the boundary deformation. In the unstable regime the driving force for soap-film motion is the mean curvature. Thus, the narrowest part of the neck, associated with the shortest nontrivial closed geodesic of the surface, has the highest curvature and is the fastest moving. Just before onset of the instability there exists on the stable surface the shortest closed geodesic, which is the initial condition for evolution of the neck’s geodesics, all of which have the same topological relationship to the frame. We make the plausible conjectures that if the initial geodesic is linked to the boundary, then the singularity will occur at the boundary, whereas if the two are unlinked initially, then the singularity will occur in the bulk. Numerical study of mean curvature flows and experiments support these conjectures. PMID:24843162

Random functions via Dyson Brownian Motion: progress and problems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Gaoyuan; Battefeld, Thorsten

2016-09-05

We develope a computationally efficient extension of the Dyson Brownian Motion (DBM) algorithm to generate random function in C{sup 2} locally. We further explain that random functions generated via DBM show an unstable growth as the traversed distance increases. This feature restricts the use of such functions considerably if they are to be used to model globally defined ones. The latter is the case if one uses random functions to model landscapes in string theory. We provide a concrete example, based on a simple axionic potential often used in cosmology, to highlight this problem and also offer an ad hocmore » modification of DBM that suppresses this growth to some degree.« less

Image-Guided Internal Fixation of an Oblique Sagittal Split Fracture of C1 Lateral Mass with Motion Preservation: A Technical Report.

PubMed

Malcolm, James G; Tan, Lee A; Johnson, Andrew K

2017-07-20

A sagittal split fracture of the C1 lateral mass is an unstable subtype of C1 fractures and has a high propensity for developing late deformities and pain with nonoperative management. A primary internal fixation of this type of fracture has been recently described with good clinical outcomes and preservation of motion. We present a modified technique of primary internal fixation using an obliquely inserted C1 lag screw with imaging guidance. We successfully treated a 55-year-old woman with a unilateral C1 oblique sagittal split fracture who failed nonoperative management. Technical nuances are discussed with a review of pertinent literature.

Motion of the two-control airplane in rectilinear flight after initial disturbances with introduction of controls following an exponential law

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klemin, Alexander

1937-01-01

An airplane in steady rectilinear flight was assumed to experience an initial disturbance in rolling or yawing velocity. The equations of motion were solved to see if it was possible to hasten recovery of a stable airplane or to secure recovery of an unstable airplane by the application of a single lateral control following an exponential law. The sample computations indicate that, for initial disturbances complex in character, it would be difficult to secure correlation with any type of exponential control. The possibility is visualized that the two-control operation may seriously impair the ability to hasten recovery or counteract instability.

A stretchable strain sensor based on a metal nanoparticle thin film for human motion detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jaehwan; Kim, Sanghyeok; Lee, Jinjae; Yang, Daejong; Park, Byong Chon; Ryu, Seunghwa; Park, Inkyu

2014-09-01

Wearable strain sensors for human motion detection are being highlighted in various fields such as medical, entertainment and sports industry. In this paper, we propose a new type of stretchable strain sensor that can detect both tensile and compressive strains and can be fabricated by a very simple process. A silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) thin film patterned on the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp by a single-step direct transfer process is used as the strain sensing material. The working principle is the change in the electrical resistance caused by the opening/closure of micro-cracks under mechanical deformation. The fabricated stretchable strain sensor shows highly sensitive and durable sensing performances in various tensile/compressive strains, long-term cyclic loading and relaxation tests. We demonstrate the applications of our stretchable strain sensors such as flexible pressure sensors and wearable human motion detection devices with high sensitivity, response speed and mechanical robustness.Wearable strain sensors for human motion detection are being highlighted in various fields such as medical, entertainment and sports industry. In this paper, we propose a new type of stretchable strain sensor that can detect both tensile and compressive strains and can be fabricated by a very simple process. A silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) thin film patterned on the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp by a single-step direct transfer process is used as the strain sensing material. The working principle is the change in the electrical resistance caused by the opening/closure of micro-cracks under mechanical deformation. The fabricated stretchable strain sensor shows highly sensitive and durable sensing performances in various tensile/compressive strains, long-term cyclic loading and relaxation tests. We demonstrate the applications of our stretchable strain sensors such as flexible pressure sensors and wearable human motion detection devices with high sensitivity, response speed and mechanical robustness. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr03295k

Acousto-Optical Method of Encoding and Visualization of Underwater Space

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-01-27

neurons which are mathematically described as coupled nonlinear oscillators that are slightly unstable. They have a property called ’ Self - Referential ... self - regulating process which is represented by Equation (5) in the ensuing description. [0083] The input/output circuitry 64 outputs signals that...other words, self -correcting dynamics of the Na and Ca ions in the membranes are closely related to the sensing and the flopping of motion actuators

Hinged external fixation of the elbow.

PubMed

Chen, Neal C; Julka, Abhishek

2010-08-01

Hinged external fixation of the elbow provides the advantages of static fixation with the benefits of continued motion through the joint. Indications for the use of this method of fixation include traumatic instability, distraction interposition arthroplasty, instability after contracture release, and instability after excision of heterotopic ossification. Orthopedic surgeons should be familiar with hinged fixators and their application when faced with an unstable ulnohumeral joint. 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Strategies of Healthy Adults Walking on a Laterally Oscillating Treadmill

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brady, Rachel A.; Peters, Brian T.; Bloomberg, Jacob J.

2008-01-01

We mounted a treadmill on top of a six degree-of-freedom motion base platform to investigate locomotor responses produced by healthy adults introduced to a dynamic walking surface. The experiment examined self-selected strategies employed by participants when exposed to continuous, sinusoidal lateral motion of the support surface while walking. Torso translation and step width were used to classify responses used to stabilize gait in a novel, dynamic environment. Two response categories emerged. Participants tended to either fix themselves in space (FIS), allowing the treadbelt to move laterally beneath them, or they fixed themselves to the base (FTB), moving laterally as the motion base oscillated. The degree of fixation in both extremes varied across participants. This finding suggests that normal adults have innate and varied preferences for reacquiring gait stability, some depending more heavily on vision (FIS group) and others on proprioception (FTB group). Keywords: Human locomotion, Unstable surface, Treadmill, Adaptation, Stability

Arnold Diffusion of Charged Particles in ABC Magnetic Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luque, Alejandro; Peralta-Salas, Daniel

2017-06-01

We prove the existence of diffusing solutions in the motion of a charged particle in the presence of ABC magnetic fields. The equations of motion are modeled by a 3DOF Hamiltonian system depending on two parameters. For small values of these parameters, we obtain a normally hyperbolic invariant manifold and we apply the so-called geometric methods for a priori unstable systems developed by A. Delshams, R. de la Llave and T.M. Seara. We characterize explicitly sufficient conditions for the existence of a transition chain of invariant tori having heteroclinic connections, thus obtaining global instability (Arnold diffusion). We also check the obtained conditions in a computer-assisted proof. ABC magnetic fields are the simplest force-free-type solutions of the magnetohydrodynamics equations with periodic boundary conditions, and can be considered as an elementary model for the motion of plasma-charged particles in a tokamak.

Low impact weight-bearing exercise in an upright posture achieves greater lumbopelvic stability than overground walking.

PubMed

Gibbon, K C; Debuse, D; Caplan, N

2013-10-01

The aim of this study was to determine the kinematic differences between movements on a new exercise device (EX) that promotes a stable trunk over a moving, unstable base of support, and overground walking (OW). Sixteen male participants performed EX and OW trials while their movements were tracked using a 3D motion capture system. Trunk and pelvis range of motion (ROM) were similar between EX and OW in the sagittal and frontal planes, and reduced for EX in the transverse plane. The pelvis was tilted anteriorly, on average, by about 16° in EX compared to OW. Hip and knee ROM were reduced in EX compared to OW. The exercise device appears to promote similar or reduced lumbopelvic motion, compared to walking, which could contribute to more tonic activity of the local lumbopelvic musculature. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of the compression interface on the failure behavior and size effect of concrete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kampmann, Raphael

The failure behavior of concrete materials is not completely understood because conventional test methods fail to assess the material response independent of the sample size and shape. To study the influence of strength and strain affecting test conditions, four typical concrete sample types were experimentally evaluated in uniaxial compression and analyzed for strength, deformational behavior, crack initiation/propagation, and fracture patterns under varying boundary conditions. Both low friction and conventional compression interfaces were assessed. High-speed video technology was used to monitor macrocracking. Inferential data analysis proved reliably lower strength results for reduced surface friction at the compression interfaces, regardless of sample shape. Reciprocal comparisons revealed statistically significant strength differences between most sample shapes. Crack initiation and propagation was found to differ for dissimilar compression interfaces. The principal stress and strain distributions were analyzed, and the strain domain was found to resemble the experimental results, whereas the stress analysis failed to explain failure for reduced end confinement. Neither stresses nor strains indicated strength reductions due to reduced friction, and therefore, buckling effects were considered. The high-speed video analysis revealed localize buckling phenomena, regardless of end confinement. Slender elements were the result of low friction, and stocky fragments developed under conventional confinement. The critical buckling load increased accordingly. The research showed that current test methods do not reflect the "true'' compressive strength and that concrete failure is strain driven. Ultimate collapse results from buckling preceded by unstable cracking.

Cohesive fracture of elastically heterogeneous materials: An integrative modeling and experimental study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Neng; Xia, Shuman

2017-01-01

A combined modeling and experimental effort is made in this work to examine the cohesive fracture mechanisms of heterogeneous elastic solids. A two-phase laminated composite, which mimics the key microstructural features of many tough engineering and biological materials, is selected as a model material system. Theoretical and finite element analyses with cohesive zone modeling are performed to study the effective fracture resistance of the heterogeneous material associated with unstable crack propagation and arrest. A crack-tip-position controlled algorithm is implemented in the finite element analysis to overcome the inherent instability issues resulting from crack pinning and depinning at local heterogeneities. Systematic parametric studies are carried out to investigate the effects of various material and geometrical parameters, including the modulus mismatch ratio, phase volume fraction, cohesive zone size, and cohesive law shape. Concurrently, a novel stereolithography-based three-dimensional (3D) printing system is developed and used for fabricating heterogeneous test specimens with well-controlled structural and material properties. Fracture testing of the specimens is performed using the tapered double-cantilever beam (TDCB) test method. With optimal material and geometrical parameters, heterogeneous TDCB specimens are shown to exhibit enhanced effective fracture energy and effective fracture toughness than their homogeneous counterparts, which is in good agreement with the modeling predictions. The integrative computational and experimental study presented here provides a fundamental mechanistic understanding of the fracture mechanisms in brittle heterogeneous materials and sheds light on the rational design of tough materials through patterned heterogeneities.

The evolution of slip pulses within bimaterial interfaces with rupture velocity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shlomai, H.; Fineberg, J.

2017-12-01

The most general frictional motion in nature involves bimaterial interfaces, when contacting bodies possess different elastic properties. Frictional motion occurs when the contacts composing the interface separating these bodies detach via propagating rupture fronts. Coupling between slip and normal stress variations is unique to bimaterial interfaces. Here we use high speed simultaneous measurements of slip velocities, real contact area and stresses to explicitly reveal this bimaterial coupling and its role in determining different classes of rupture modes and their structures. Our experiments study the rupture of a spatially extended interface formed by brittle plastics whose shear wave speeds differ by 30%. Any slip within a bimaterial interface will break the stress symmetry across the interface. One important result of this is that local values of normal stress variations at the interface couple to interface slip, `bimaterial coupling'. The sign of the coupling depends on the front propagation direction. When we consider ruptures propagating in the direction of motion of the more compliant material, the `positive' direction, slip reduces the normal stress. We focus on this direction. We show that, in this direction, interface ruptures develop from crack-like behavior at low rupture velocities, whose structure corresponds to theoretical predictions: As the ruptures accelerate towards their asymptotic speed, the structures of the strain and stress fields near the rupture tip deviate significantly from this crack-like form, and systematically sharpen to a pulse-like rupture mode called slip-pulses. We conclude with a description of slip-pulse properties.

Underwater manipulator

DOEpatents

Schrum, Phillip B.; Cohen, George H.

1993-01-01

Self-contained, waterproof, water-submersible, remote-controlled apparatus is provided for manipulating a device, such as an ultrasonic transducer for measuring crack propagation on an underwater specimen undergoing shock testing. The subject manipulator includes metal bellows for transmittal of angular motions without the use of rotating shaft seals or O-rings. Inside the manipulator, a first stepper motor controls angular movement. In the preferred embodiment, the bellows permit the first stepper motor to move an ultrasonic transducer .+-.45 degrees in a first plane and a second bellows permit a second stepper motor to move the transducer .+-.10 degrees in a second plane orthogonal to the first. In addition, an XY motor-driven table provides XY motion.

Instability of vortex pair leapfrogging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tophøj, Laust; Aref, Hassan

2013-01-01

Leapfrogging is a periodic solution of the four-vortex problem with two positive and two negative point vortices all of the same absolute circulation arranged as co-axial vortex pairs. The set of co-axial motions can be parameterized by the ratio 0 < α < 1 of vortex pair sizes at the time when one pair passes through the other. Leapfrogging occurs for α > σ2, where σ = sqrt{2}-1 is the silver ratio. The motion is known in full analytical detail since the 1877 thesis of Gröbli and a well known 1894 paper by Love. Acheson ["Instability of vortex leapfrogging," Eur. J. Phys. 21, 269-273 (2000)], 10.1088/0143-0807/21/3/310 determined by numerical experiments that leapfrogging is linearly unstable for σ2 < α < 0.382, but apparently stable for larger α. Here we derive a linear system of equations governing small perturbations of the leapfrogging motion. We show that symmetry-breaking perturbations are essentially governed by a 2D linear system with time-periodic coefficients and perform a Floquet analysis. We find transition from linearly unstable to stable leapfrogging at α = ϕ2 ≈ 0.381966, where φ = 1/2(sqrt{5}-1) is the golden ratio. Acheson also suggested that there was a sharp transition between a "disintegration" instability mode, where two pairs fly off to infinity, and a "walkabout" mode, where the vortices depart from leapfrogging but still remain within a finite distance of one another. We show numerically that this transition is more gradual, a result that we relate to earlier investigations of chaotic scattering of vortex pairs [L. Tophøj and H. Aref, "Chaotic scattering of two identical point vortex pairs revisited," Phys. Fluids 20, 093605 (2008)], 10.1063/1.2974830. Both leapfrogging and "walkabout" motions can appear as intermediate states in chaotic scattering at the same values of linear impulse and energy.

Direct Measurement of Helical Cell Motion of the Spirochete Leptospira

PubMed Central

Nakamura, Shuichi; Leshansky, Alexander; Magariyama, Yukio; Namba, Keiichi; Kudo, Seishi

2014-01-01

Leptospira are spirochete bacteria distinguished by a short-pitch coiled body and intracellular flagella. Leptospira cells swim in liquid with an asymmetric morphology of the cell body; the anterior end has a long-pitch spiral shape (S-end) and the posterior end is hook-shaped (H-end). Although the S-end and the coiled cell body called the protoplasmic cylinder are thought to be responsible for propulsion together, most observations on the motion mechanism have remained qualitative. In this study, we analyzed the swimming speed and rotation rate of the S-end, protoplasmic cylinder, and H-end of individual Leptospira cells by one-sided dark-field microscopy. At various viscosities of media containing different concentrations of Ficoll, the rotation rate of the S-end and protoplasmic cylinder showed a clear correlation with the swimming speed, suggesting that these two helical parts play a central role in the motion of Leptospira. In contrast, the H-end rotation rate was unstable and showed much less correlation with the swimming speed. Forces produced by the rotation of the S-end and protoplasmic cylinder showed that these two helical parts contribute to propulsion at nearly equal magnitude. Torque generated by each part, also obtained from experimental motion parameters, indicated that the flagellar motor can generate torque >4000 pN nm, twice as large as that of Escherichia coli. Furthermore, the S-end torque was found to show a markedly larger fluctuation than the protoplasmic cylinder torque, suggesting that the unstable H-end rotation might be mechanically related to changes in the S-end rotation rate for torque balance of the entire cell. Variations in torque at the anterior and posterior ends of the Leptospira cell body could be transmitted from one end to the other through the cell body to coordinate the morphological transformations of the two ends for a rapid change in the swimming direction. PMID:24411236

Direct measurement of helical cell motion of the spirochete leptospira.

PubMed

Nakamura, Shuichi; Leshansky, Alexander; Magariyama, Yukio; Namba, Keiichi; Kudo, Seishi

2014-01-07

Leptospira are spirochete bacteria distinguished by a short-pitch coiled body and intracellular flagella. Leptospira cells swim in liquid with an asymmetric morphology of the cell body; the anterior end has a long-pitch spiral shape (S-end) and the posterior end is hook-shaped (H-end). Although the S-end and the coiled cell body called the protoplasmic cylinder are thought to be responsible for propulsion together, most observations on the motion mechanism have remained qualitative. In this study, we analyzed the swimming speed and rotation rate of the S-end, protoplasmic cylinder, and H-end of individual Leptospira cells by one-sided dark-field microscopy. At various viscosities of media containing different concentrations of Ficoll, the rotation rate of the S-end and protoplasmic cylinder showed a clear correlation with the swimming speed, suggesting that these two helical parts play a central role in the motion of Leptospira. In contrast, the H-end rotation rate was unstable and showed much less correlation with the swimming speed. Forces produced by the rotation of the S-end and protoplasmic cylinder showed that these two helical parts contribute to propulsion at nearly equal magnitude. Torque generated by each part, also obtained from experimental motion parameters, indicated that the flagellar motor can generate torque >4000 pN nm, twice as large as that of Escherichia coli. Furthermore, the S-end torque was found to show a markedly larger fluctuation than the protoplasmic cylinder torque, suggesting that the unstable H-end rotation might be mechanically related to changes in the S-end rotation rate for torque balance of the entire cell. Variations in torque at the anterior and posterior ends of the Leptospira cell body could be transmitted from one end to the other through the cell body to coordinate the morphological transformations of the two ends for a rapid change in the swimming direction. Copyright © 2014 Biophysical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Cervical spine motion in manual versus Jackson table turning methods in a cadaveric global instability model.

PubMed

DiPaola, Matthew J; DiPaola, Christian P; Conrad, Bryan P; Horodyski, MaryBeth; Del Rossi, Gianluca; Sawers, Andrew; Bloch, David; Rechtine, Glenn R

2008-06-01

A study of spine biomechanics in a cadaver model. To quantify motion in multiple axes created by transfer methods from stretcher to operating table in the prone position in a cervical global instability model. Patients with an unstable cervical spine remain at high risk for further secondary injury until their spine is adequately surgically stabilized. Previous studies have revealed that collars have significant, but limited benefit in preventing cervical motion when manually transferring patients. The literature proposes multiple methods of patient transfer, although no one method has been universally adopted. To date, no study has effectively evaluated the relationship between spine motion and various patient transfer methods to an operating room table for prone positioning. A global instability was surgically created at C5-6 in 4 fresh cadavers with no history of spine pathology. All cadavers were tested both with and without a rigid cervical collar in the intact and unstable state. Three headrest permutations were evaluated Mayfield (SM USA Inc), Prone View (Dupaco, Oceanside, CA), and Foam Pillow (OSI, Union City, CA). A trained group of medical staff performed each of 2 transfer methods: the "manual" and the "Jackson table" transfer. The manual technique entailed performing a standard rotation of the supine patient on a stretcher to the prone position on the operating room table with in-line manual cervical stabilization. The "Jackson" technique involved sliding the supine patient to the Jackson table (OSI, Union City, CA) with manual in-line cervical stabilization, securing them to the table, then initiating the table's lock and turn mechanism and rotating them into a prone position. An electromagnetic tracking device captured angular motion between the C5 and C6 vertebral segments. Repeated measures statistical analysis was performed to evaluate the following conditions: collar use (2 levels), headrest (3 levels), and turning technique (2 levels). For all measures, there was significantly more cervical spine motion during manual prone positioning compared with using the Jackson table. The use of a collar provided a slight reduction in motion in all the planes of movement; however, this was only significantly different from the no collar condition in axial rotation. Differences in gross motion between the headrest type were observed in lateral bending (Foam Pillow

Fracture behavior of large-scale thin-sheet aluminum alloy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dewit, Roland; Fields, Richard J.; Mordfin, Leonard; Low, Samuel R.; Harne, Donald

1994-01-01

A series of fracture tests on large-scale, pre-cracked, aluminum alloy panels is being carried out to examine and to characterize the process by which cracks propagate and link up in this material. Extended grips and test fixtures were specially designed to enable the panel specimens to be loaded in tension, in a 1780-kN-capacity universal testing machine. Twelve panel specimens, each consisting of a single sheet of bare 2024-T3 aluminum alloy, 3988 mm high, 2286 mm wide, and 1.016 mm thick are being fabricated with simulated through-cracks oriented horizontally at mid-height. Using existing information, a test matrix has been set up that explores regions of failure that are controlled by fracture mechanics, with additional tests near the boundary between plastic collapse and fracture. In addition, a variety of multiple site damage (MSD) configurations have been included to distinguish between various proposed linkage mechanisms. All tests but one use anti-buckling guides. At this writing seven specimens have been tested. Three were fabricated with a single central crack, three others had multiple cracks on each side of the central crack, and one had a single crack but no anti-buckling guides. Each fracture event was recorded on film, video, computer, magnetic tape, and occasionally optical microscopy. The visual showed the crack tip with a load meter in the field of view, using motion picture film for one tip and SVHS video tape for the other. The computer recorded the output of the testing machine load cell, the stroke, and twelve strain gages at 1.5 second intervals. A wideband FM magnetic tape recorder was used to record data from the same sources. The data were analyzed by two different procedures: (1) the plastic zone model based on the residual strength diagram; and (2) the R-curve. The first three tests were used to determine the basic material properties, and these results were then used in the analysis of the two subsequent tests with MSD cracks. There is good agreement between measured values and results obtained from the model.

The North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI): Profile of Participants in North America’s First Trial of Heroin-Assisted Treatment

PubMed Central

Nosyk, Bohdan; Brissette, Suzanne; Chettiar, Jill; Schneeberger, Pascal; Marsh, David C.; Krausz, Michael; Anis, Aslam; Schechter, Martin T.

2008-01-01

The North American Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI) is a randomized controlled trial evaluating the feasibility and effectiveness of heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) in the Canadian context. Our objective is to analyze the profile of the NAOMI participant cohort in the context of illicit opioid use in Canada and to evaluate its comparability with patient profiles of European HAT studies. Recruitment began in February 2005 and ended in March 2007. Inclusion criteria included opioid dependence, 5 or more years of opioid use, regular opioid injection, and at least two previous opiate addiction treatment attempts. Standardized assessment instruments such as the European Addiction Severity Index and the Maudsley Addiction Profile were employed. A total of 251 individuals were randomized from Vancouver, BC (192, 76.5%), and Montreal, Quebec (59, 23.5%); 38.5% were female, the mean age was 39.7 years (SD:8.6), and participants had injected drugs for 16.5 years (SD:9.9), on average. In the prior month, heroin was used a mean of 26.5 days (SD:7.4) and cocaine 16 days (SD;12.6). Vancouver had significantly more patients residing in unstable housing (88.5 vs. 22%; p < 0.001) and higher use of smoked crack cocaine (16.9 days vs. 2.3 days in the prior month; p < 0.001), while a significantly higher proportion of Montreal participants reported needle sharing in the prior 6 months (25% vs. 3.7%; p < 0.001). In many respects, the patient cohort was similar to the European trials; however, NAOMI had a higher proportion of female participants and participants residing in unstable housing. This study suggests that the NAOMI study successfully recruited participants with a profile indicated for HAT. It also raises concern about the high levels of crack cocaine use and social marginalization. PMID:18758964

Flare particle acceleration in the interaction of twisted coronal flux ropes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Threlfall, J.; Hood, A. W.; Browning, P. K.

2018-03-01

Aim. The aim of this work is to investigate and characterise non-thermal particle behaviour in a three-dimensional (3D) magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) model of unstable multi-threaded flaring coronal loops. Methods: We have used a numerical scheme which solves the relativistic guiding centre approximation to study the motion of electrons and protons. The scheme uses snapshots from high resolution numerical MHD simulations of coronal loops containing two threads, where a single thread becomes unstable and (in one case) destabilises and merges with an additional thread. Results: The particle responses to the reconnection and fragmentation in MHD simulations of two loop threads are examined in detail. We illustrate the role played by uniform background resistivity and distinguish this from the role of anomalous resistivity using orbits in an MHD simulation where only one thread becomes unstable without destabilising further loop threads. We examine the (scalable) orbit energy gains and final positions recovered at different stages of a second MHD simulation wherein a secondary loop thread is destabilised by (and merges with) the first thread. We compare these results with other theoretical particle acceleration models in the context of observed energetic particle populations during solar flares.

On the seismic response of instable rock slopes based on ambient vibration recordings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleinbrod, Ulrike; Burjánek, Jan; Fäh, Donat

2017-09-01

Rock slope failures can lead to huge human and economic loss depending on their size and exact location. Reasonable hazard mitigation requires thorough understanding of the underlying slope driving mechanisms and its rock mass properties. Measurements of seismic ambient vibrations could improve the characterization and detection of rock instabilities since there is a link between seismic response and internal structure of the unstable rock mass. An unstable slope near the village Gondo has been investigated. The unstable part shows strongly amplified ground motion with respect to the stable part of the rock slope. The amplification values reach maximum factors of 70. The seismic response on the instable part is highly directional and polarized. Re-measurements have been taken 1 year later showing exactly the same results as the original measurements. Neither the amplified frequencies nor the amplification values have changed. Therefore, ambient vibration measurements are repeatable and stay the same, if the rock mass has not undergone any significant change in structure or volume, respectively. Additionally, four new points have been measured during the re-measuring campaign in order to better map the border of the instability.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

A theoretical analysis of airplane longitudinal stability and control as affected by wind shear

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sherman, W. L.

1977-01-01

The longitudinal equations of motion with wind shear terms were used to analyze the stability and motions of a jet transport. A positive wind shear gives a decreasing head wind or changes a head wind into a tail wind. A negative wind shear gives a decreasing tail wind or changes a tail wind into a head wind. It was found that wind shear had very little effect on the short period mode and that negative wind shear, although it affected the phugoid, did not cause stability problems. On the other hand, it was found that positive wind shear can cause the phugoid to become aperiodic and unstable. In this case, a stability boundary for the phugoid was found that is valid for most aircraft at all flight speeds. Calculations of aircraft motions confirmed the results of the stability analysis. It was found that a flight path control automatic pilot and an airspeed control system provide good control in all types of wind shear. Appendixes give equations of motion that include the effects of downdrafts and updrafts and extend the longitudinal equations of motion for shear to six degrees of freedom.

Experimental investigation of shaping disturbance observer design for motion control of precision mechatronic stages with resonances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jin; Hu, Chuxiong; Zhu, Yu; Wang, Ze; Zhang, Ming

2017-08-01

In this paper, shaping disturbance observer (SDOB) is investigated for precision mechatronic stages with middle-frequency zero/pole type resonance to achieve good motion control performance in practical manufacturing situations. Compared with traditional standard disturbance observer (DOB), in SDOB a pole-zero cancellation based shaping filter is cascaded to the mechatronic stage plant to meet the challenge of motion control performance deterioration caused by actual resonance. Noting that pole-zero cancellation is inevitably imperfect and the controller may even consequently become unstable in practice, frequency domain stability analysis is conducted to find out how each parameter of the shaping filter affects the control stability. Moreover, the robust design criterion of the shaping filter, and the design procedure of SDOB, are both proposed to guide the actual design and facilitate practical implementation. The SDOB with the proposed design criterion is applied to a linear motor driven stage and a voice motor driven stage, respectively. Experimental results consistently validate the effectiveness nature of the proposed SDOB scheme in practical mechatronics motion applications. The proposed SDOB design actually could be an effective unit in the controller design for motion stages of mechanical manufacture equipments.

A Self-Affine Multi-Fractal Wave/Turbulence Discrimination Method Using Data from Single Point Fast Response Sensors in a Nocturnal Atmospheric Boundary Layer

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-04-10

and passive tracer concentrations, and their cross correlations have generally been used to estimate the magnitude of dispersive atmospheric transport...of gravity waves and turbulence. . 10 III. METHODS .......... ........................ 12 A. Data .......... ........................ 12 B. Analysis ...unstable, i.e., strange. For waves or even limit cycle motion about fixed attractors, self-similarity does not occur. Pertinent to time series analysis , this

Numerical simulation of solitary waves on deep water with constant vorticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dosaev, A. S.; Shishina, M. I.; Troitskaya, Yu I.

2018-01-01

Characteristics of solitary deep water waves on a flow with constant vorticity are investigated by numerical simulation within the framework of fully nonlinear equations of motion (Euler equations) using the method of surface-tracking conformal coordinates. To ensure that solutions observed are stable, soliton formation as a result of disintegration of an initial pulse-like disturbance is modeled. Evidence is obtained that solitary waves with height above a certain threshold are unstable.

A Study of the Characteristics of Human-Pilot Control Response to Simulated Aircraft Lateral Motions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheatham, Donald C

1954-01-01

Report presents the results of studies made in an attempt to provide information on the control operations of the human pilot. These studies included an investigation of the ability of pilots to control simulated unstable yawing oscillations, a study of the basic characteristics of human-pilot control response, and a study to determine whether and to what extent pilot control response can be represented in an analytical form.

Apparent diffusive motion of centrin foci in living cells: implications for diffusion-based motion in centriole duplication

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rafelski, Susanne M.; Keller, Lani C.; Alberts, Jonathan B.; Marshall, Wallace F.

2011-04-01

The degree to which diffusion contributes to positioning cellular structures is an open question. Here we investigate the question of whether diffusive motion of centrin granules would allow them to interact with the mother centriole. The role of centrin granules in centriole duplication remains unclear, but some proposed functions of these granules, for example, in providing pre-assembled centriole subunits, or by acting as unstable 'pre-centrioles' that need to be captured by the mother centriole (La Terra et al 2005 J. Cell Biol. 168 713-22), require the centrin foci to reach the mother. To test whether diffusive motion could permit such interactions in the necessary time scale, we measured the motion of centrin-containing foci in living human U2OS cells. We found that these centrin foci display apparently diffusive undirected motion. Using the apparent diffusion constant obtained from these measurements, we calculated the time scale required for diffusion to capture by the mother centrioles and found that it would greatly exceed the time available in the cell cycle. We conclude that mechanisms invoking centrin foci capture by the mother, whether as a pre-centriole or as a source of components to support later assembly, would require a form of directed motility of centrin foci that has not yet been observed.

Mechanisms of fatigue crack retardation following single tensile overloads in powder metallurgy aluminum alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bray, G. H.; Reynolds, A. P.; Starke, E. A., Jr.

1992-01-01

In ingot metallurgy (IM) alloys, the number of delay cycles following a single tensile overload typically increases from a minimum at an intermediate baseline stress intensity range, Delta-K(B), with decreasing Delta-K(B) approaching threshold and increasing Delta-K(B) approaching unstable fracture to produce a characteristic 'U' shaped curve. Two models have been proposed to explain this behavior. One model is based on the interaction between roughness and plasticity-induced closure, while the other model only utilizes plasticity-induced closure. This article examines these models, using experimental results from constant amplitude and single overload fatigue tests performed on two powder metallurgy (PM) aluminum alloys, AL-905XL and AA 8009. The results indicate that the 'U'-shaped curve is primarily due to plasticity-induced closure, and that the plasticity-induced retardation effect is through-thickness in nature, occurring in both the surface and interior regions. However, the retardation effect is greater at the surface, because the increase in plastic strain at the crack tip and overload plastic zone size are larger in the plane-stress surface regions than in the plane-strain interior regions. These results are not entirely consistent with either of the proposed models.

Laser damage initiation and growth of antireflection coated S-FAP crystal surfaces prepared by pitch lap and magnetorheological finishing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stolz, C J; Menapace, J A; Schaffers, K I

Antireflection (AR) coatings typically damage at the interface between the substrate and coating. Therefore the substrate finishing technology can have an impact on the laser resistance of the coating. For this study, AR coatings were deposited on Yb:S-FAP [Yb{sup 3+}:Sr{sub 5}(PO{sub 4}){sub 3}F] crystals that received a final polish by both conventional pitch lap finishing as well as magnetorheological finishing (MRF). SEM images of the damage morphology reveals laser damage originates at scratches and at substrate coating interfacial absorbing defects. Previous damage stability tests on multilayer mirror coatings and bare surfaces revealed damage growth can occur at fluences below themore » initiation fluence. The results from this study suggest the opposite trend for AR coatings. Investigation of unstable HR and uncoated surface damage morphologies reveals significant radial cracking that is not apparent with AR damage due to AR delamination from the coated surface with few apparent cracks at the damage boundary. Damage stability tests show that coated Yb:S-FAP crystals can operate at 1057 nm at fluences around 20 J/cm{sup 2} at 10 ns; almost twice the initiation damage threshold.« less

Friction is Fracture: a new paradigm for the onset of frictional motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fineberg, Jay

Friction is generally described by a single degree of freedom, a `friction coefficient'. We experimentally study the space-time dynamics of the onset of dry and lubricated frictional motion when two contacting bodies start to slide. We first show that the transition from static to dynamic sliding is governed by rupture fronts (closely analogous to earthquakes) that break the contacts along the interface separating the two bodies. Moreover, the structure of these ''laboratory earthquakes'' is quantitatively described by singular solutions originally derived to describe the motion of rapid cracks under applied shear. We demonstrate that this framework quantitatively describes both earthquake motion and arrest. This framework also providing a new window into the hidden properties of the micron thick interface that governs a body's frictional properties. Using this window we show that lubricated interfaces, although ``slippery'', actually becomes tougher; lubricants significantly increase dissipated energy during rupture. The results establish a new (and fruitful) paradigm for describing friction. Israel Science Foundation, ERC.

Application of the unsteady vortex-lattice method to the nonlinear two-degree-of-freedom aeroelastic equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strganac, T. W.; Mook, D. T.

1986-01-01

A means of numerically simulating flutter is established by implementing a predictor-corrector algorithm to solve the equations of motion. Aerodynamic loads are provided by the unsteady vortex lattice method (UVLM). This method is illustrated via the obtainment of stable and unstable responses to initial disturbances in the case of two-degree-of-freedom motion. It was found that for some angles of attack and dynamic pressure, the initial disturbance decays, for others it grows (flutter). When flutter occurs, the solution yields the amplitude and period of the resulting limit cycle. The preliminaray results attest to the feasibility of this method for studying flutter in cases that would be difficult to treat using a classical approach.

Periodic-disturbance accommodating control of the space station for asymptotic momentum management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warren, Wayne; Wie, Bong

1989-01-01

Periodic maneuvering control is developed for asymptotic momentum management of control gyros used as primary actuating devices for the Space Station. The proposed controller utilizes the concepts of quaternion feedback control and periodic-disturbance accommodation to achieve oscillations about the constant torque equilibrium attitude, while minimizing the control effort required. Three-axis coupled equations of motion, written in terms of quaternions, are derived for roll/yaw controller design and stability analysis. It is shown that the quaternion feedback controller is very robust for a wide range of pitch angles. It is also shown that the proposed controller tunes the open-loop unstable vehicle to a stable oscillatory motion which minimizes the control effort needed for steady-state operations.

Open quantum random walks: Bistability on pure states and ballistically induced diffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bauer, Michel; Bernard, Denis; Tilloy, Antoine

2013-12-01

Open quantum random walks (OQRWs) deal with quantum random motions on a line for systems with internal and orbital degrees of freedom. The internal system behaves as a quantum random gyroscope coding for the direction of the orbital moves. We reveal the existence of a transition, depending on OQRW moduli, in the internal system behaviors from simple oscillations to random flips between two unstable pure states. This induces a transition in the orbital motions from the usual diffusion to ballistically induced diffusion with a large mean free path and large effective diffusion constant at large times. We also show that mixed states of the internal system are converted into random pure states during the process. We touch upon possible experimental realizations.

Image-Guided Internal Fixation of an Oblique Sagittal Split Fracture of C1 Lateral Mass with Motion Preservation: A Technical Report

PubMed Central

Malcolm, James G; Johnson, Andrew K

2017-01-01

A sagittal split fracture of the C1 lateral mass is an unstable subtype of C1 fractures and has a high propensity for developing late deformities and pain with nonoperative management. A primary internal fixation of this type of fracture has been recently described with good clinical outcomes and preservation of motion. We present a modified technique of primary internal fixation using an obliquely inserted C1 lag screw with imaging guidance. We successfully treated a 55-year-old woman with a unilateral C1 oblique sagittal split fracture who failed nonoperative management. Technical nuances are discussed with a review of pertinent literature. PMID:28948116

Infrasonic wave accompanying a crack opening during the 2015 Hakone eruption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yukutake, Yohei; Ichihara, Mie; Honda, Ryou

2018-03-01

To understand the initial process of the phreatic eruption of the Hakone volcano from June 29 to July 01, 2015, we analyzed infrasound data using the cross-correlation between infrasound and vertical ground velocity and compared the results of our analysis to the crustal deformation detected by tiltmeters and broadband seismometers. An infrasound signal and vertical ground motion due to an infrasound wave coupled to the ground were detected simultaneously with the opening of a crack source beneath the Owakudani geothermal region during the 2-min time period after 07:32 JST on June 29, 2015 (JST = UTC + 8 h). Given that the upper end of the open crack was approximately 150 m beneath the surface, the time for the direct emission of highly pressurized fluid from the upper end of the open crack to the surface should have exceeded the duration of the inflation owing to the hydraulic diffusivity in the porous media. Therefore, the infrasound signal coincident with the opening of the crack may reflect a sudden emission of volcanic gas resulting from the rapid vaporization of pre-existing groundwater beneath Owakudani because of the transfer of the volumetric strain change from the deformation source. We also noticed a correlation pattern corresponding to discrete impulsive infrasound signals during vent formation, which occurred several hours to 2 days after the opening of the crack. In particular, we noted that the sudden emission of vapor coincided with the inflation of the shallow pressure source, whereas the eruptive burst events accompanied by the largest vent formation were delayed by approximately 2 days. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the correlation method is a useful tool in detecting small infrasound signals and provides important information regarding the initial processes of the eruption.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Acoustic Emission Weld Monitoring in the 2195 Aluminum-Lithium Alloy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, James L.

2005-01-01

Due to its low density, the 2195 aluminum-lithium alloy was developed as a replacement for alloy 2219 in the Space Shuttle External Tank (ET). The external tank is the single largest component of the space shuttle system. It is 154 feet long and 27.6 feet in diameter, and serves as the structural backbone for the shuttle during launch, absorbing most of the 7 million plus pounds of thrust produced. The almost 4% decrease in density between the two materials provides an extra 7500 pounds of payload capacity necessary to put the International Space Station components into orbit. The ET is an all-welded structure; hence, the requirement is for up to five rewelds without hot cracking. Unfortunately, hot cracking during re-welding or repair operations was occurring and had to be dealt with before the new super lightweight tank could be used. Weld metal porosity formation was also of concern because it leads to hot cracking during weld repairs. Accordingly, acoustic emission (AE) nondestructive testing was employed to monitor the formation of porosity and hot cracks in order to select the best filler metal and optimize the weld schedule. The purpose of this work is to determine the feasibility of detecting hot cracking in welded aluminum-lithium (Al-Li) structures through the analysis of acoustic emission data. By acoustically characterizing the effects of reheating during a repair operation, the potential for hidden flaws coalescing and becoming "unstable" as the panel is repaired could be reduced. Identification of regions where microcrack growth is likely to occur and the location of active flaw growth in the repair weld will provide the welder with direct feedback as to the current weld quality enabling adjustments to the repair process be made in the field. An acoustic emission analysis of the source mechanisms present during welding has been conducted with the goals of locating regions in the weld line that are susceptible to damage from a repair operation, identifying the formation of critically sized flaws and providing accept/reject criteria for the quality of a weld as it is performed.

Length dependence of a halo orthosis on cervical immobilization.

PubMed

Triggs, K J; Ballock, R T; Byrne, T; Garfin, S R

1993-02-01

This study was designed to observe the length dependence of a well-molded fiberglass body cast attached to a halo on motion restriction in an unstable cadaveric cervical spine. Also, by using this technique, comparison between the immobilization provided by a body cast and that provided by a standard premolded polyethylene halo vest could be made. Extreme cervical instability was created on adult cadavers. A halo ring was applied and then attached to a fiberglass body cast or to a polyethylene halo vest. Sequential lateral cervical radiographs were obtained during maximum flexion as the body cast was shortened from the level of the iliac crests to the level of the xiphoid process. Radiographic motion was also assessed within the polyethylene halo vest. Results revealed minimal motion difference as the fiberglass body cast was sequentially shortened. In contrast, motions within the polyethylene halo vest were variable. These results suggest that cervical immobilization may be relatively independent of support structure length and that immobilization can be maintained by a well-fitting halo vest extending to the level of the xiphoid process.

Spontaneous Droplet Motion on a Periodically Compliant Substrate.

PubMed

Liu, Tianshu; Nadermann, Nichole; He, Zhenping; Strogatz, Steven H; Hui, Chung-Yuen; Jagota, Anand

2017-05-23

Droplet motion arises in many natural phenomena, ranging from the familiar gravity-driven slip and arrest of raindrops on windows to the directed transport of droplets for water harvesting by plants and animals under dry conditions. Deliberate transportation and manipulation of droplets are also important in many technological applications, including droplet-based microfluidic chemical reactors and for thermal management. Droplet motion usually requires gradients of surface energy or temperature or external vibration to overcome contact angle hysteresis. Here, we report a new phenomenon in which a drying droplet placed on a periodically compliant surface undergoes spontaneous, erratic motion in the absence of surface energy gradients and external stimuli such as vibration. By modeling the droplet as a mass-spring system on a substrate with periodically varying compliance, we show that the stability of equilibrium depends on the size of the droplet. Specifically, if the center of mass of the drop lies at a stable equilibrium point of the system, it will stay there until evaporation reduces its size and this fixed point becomes unstable; with any small perturbation, the droplet then moves to one of its neighboring fixed points.

Transitions between homogeneous phases of polar active liquids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dauchot, Olivier; Nguyen Thu Lam, Khanh Dang; Schindler, Michael; EC2M Team; PCT Team

2015-03-01

Polar active liquids, composed of aligning self-propelled particle exhibit large scale collective motion. Simulations of Vicsek-like models of constant-speed point particles, aligning with their neighbors in the presence of noise, have revealed the existence of a transition towards a true long range order polar-motion phase. Generically, the homogenous polar state is unstable; non-linear propagative structures develop; and the transition is discontinuous. The long range dynamics of these systems has been successfully captured using various scheme of kinetic theories. However the complexity of the dynamics close to the transition has somewhat hindered more basics questions. Is there a simple way to predict the existence and the order of a transition to collective motion for a given microscopic dynamics? What would be the physically meaningful and relevant quantity to answer this question? Here, we tackle these questions, restricting ourselves to the study of the homogeneous phases of polar active liquids in the low density limit and obtain a very intuitive understanding of the conditions which particle interaction must satisfy to induce a transition towards collective motion.

Stress corrosion cracking of duplex stainless steels in caustic solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhattacharya, Ananya

Duplex stainless steels (DSS) with roughly equal amount of austenite and ferrite phases are being used in industries such as petrochemical, nuclear, pulp and paper mills, de-salination plants, marine environments, and others. However, many DSS grades have been reported to undergo corrosion and stress corrosion cracking in some aggressive environments such as chlorides and sulfide-containing caustic solutions. Although stress corrosion cracking of duplex stainless steels in chloride solution has been investigated and well documented in the literature but the SCC mechanisms for DSS in caustic solutions were not known. Microstructural changes during fabrication processes affect the overall SCC susceptibility of these steels in caustic solutions. Other environmental factors, like pH of the solution, temperature, and resulting electrochemical potential also influence the SCC susceptibility of duplex stainless steels. In this study, the role of material and environmental parameters on corrosion and stress corrosion cracking of duplex stainless steels in caustic solutions were investigated. Changes in the DSS microstructure by different annealing and aging treatments were characterized in terms of changes in the ratio of austenite and ferrite phases, phase morphology and intermetallic precipitation using optical micrography, SEM, EDS, XRD, nano-indentation and microhardness methods. These samples were then tested for general and localized corrosion susceptibility and SCC to understand the underlying mechanisms of crack initiation and propagation in DSS in the above-mentioned environments. Results showed that the austenite phase in the DSS is more susceptible to crack initiation and propagation in caustic solutions, which is different from that in the low pH chloride environment where the ferrite phase is the more susceptible phase. This study also showed that microstructural changes in duplex stainless steels due to different heat treatments could affect their SCC susceptibility. Annealed and water quenched specimens were found to be immune to SCC in caustic environment. Aging treatment at 800°C gave rise to sigma and chi precipitates in the DSS. However, these sigma and chi precipitates, known to initiate cracking in DSS in chloride environment did not cause any cracking of DSS in caustic solutions. Aging of DSS at 475°C had resulted in '475°C embrittlement' and caused cracks to initiate in the ferrite phase. This was in contrast to the cracks initiating in the austenite phase in the as-received DSS. Alloy composition and microstructure of DSS as well as solution composition (dissolved ionic species) was also found to affect the electrochemical behavior and passivation of DSS which in turn plays a major role in stress corrosion crack initiation and propagation. Corrosion rates and SCC susceptibility of DSS was found to increase with addition of sulfide to caustic solutions. Corrosion films on DSS, characterized using XRD and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, indicated that the metal sulfide compounds were formed along with oxides at the metal surface in the presence of sulfide containing caustic environments. These metal sulfide containing passive films are unstable and hence breaks down under mechanical straining, leading to SCC initiations. The overall results from this study helped in understanding the mechanism of SCC in caustic solutions. Favorable slip systems in the austenite phase of DSS favors slip-induced local film damage thereby initiating a stress corrosion crack. Repeated film repassivation and breaking, followed by crack tip dissolution results in crack propagation in the austenite phase of DSS alloys. Result from this study will have a significant impact in terms of identifying the alloy compositions, fabrication processes, microstructures, and environmental conditions that may be avoided to mitigate corrosion and stress corrosion cracking of DSS in caustic solutions.

Additive fiber-cerclages in proximal humeral fractures stabilized by locking plates

PubMed Central

Hurschler, Christof; Rech, Louise; Vosshenrich, Rolf; Lill, Helmut

2009-01-01

Background and purpose The effect of additive fiber-cerclages in proximal humeral fractures stabilized by locking plates on fracture stabilization and rotator cuff function is unclear. Here it was assessed in a human cadaver study. Methods 24 paired human shoulder specimens were harvested from median 77-year-old (range 66–85) female donors. An unstable 3-part fracture model with an intact rotator cuff was developed. 1 specimen of each pair received an additive fiber-cerclage of the rotator cuff after plate fixation, and the other one received a plate fixation without an additive fiber-cerclage. Force-controlled hydraulic cylinders were used to simulate physiological rotator cuff tension, while a robot-assisted shoulder simulator performed 4 relevant cases of load: (1) axial loading at 0°, (2) glenohumeral abduction at 60°, (3) internal rotation at 0° abduction, and (4) external rotation at 0° abduction, and imitated hanging arm weight during loading without affecting joint kinematics. A 3-dimensional real-time interfragmentary motion analysis was done in fracture gaps between the greater tuberosity and the head, as well as subcapital. The capacity of the rotator cuff to strain was analyzed with an optical system. Results Interfragmentary motion was similar between the groups with and without fiber-cerclages, in both fracture gaps and in any of the cases of load. Cerclages did not impair the capacity of the rotator cuff to strain. Interpretation Provided that unstable 3-part fractures are reduced and stabilized anatomically by a locking plate, additive fiber-cerclages do not reduce interfragmentary motion. Additive fiber-cerclages may be necessary in locking plate osteosyntheses of multiple-fractured greater tuberosities or lesser tuberosity fractures that cannot be fixed sufficiently by the plate. PMID:19562564

Influence of motion coupling and nonlinear effects on parametric roll for a floating production storage and offloading platform.

PubMed

Greco, M; Lugni, C; Faltinsen, O M

2015-01-28

Occurrence and features of parametric roll (PR) on a weather-vaning floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) platform with a turret single-point mooring-line system are examined. The main focus is on the relevance of motions coupling and nonlinear effects on this phenomenon and on more general unstable conditions as well as on the occurrence and severity of water on deck. This work was motivated by recent experiments on an FPSO model without mooring systems highlighting the occurrence of parametric resonance owing to roll-yaw coupling. A three-dimensional numerical hybrid potential-flow seakeeping solver was able to capture this behaviour. The same method, extended to include the mooring lines, is adopted here to investigate the platform behaviour for different incident wavelengths, steepnesses, headings, locations of the turret and pretensions. From the results, sway and yaw tend to destabilize the system, also bringing chaotic features. The sway-roll-yaw coupling widens the existence region of PR resonance and increases PR severity; it also results in a larger amount of shipped water, especially at smaller wavelength-to-ship length ratio and larger steepness. The chaotic features are excited when a sufficiently large yaw amplitude is reached. Consistently, a simplified stability analysis showed the relevance of nonlinear-restoring coefficients, first those connected with the sway-yaw coupling then those associated with the roll-yaw coupling, both destabilizing. From the stability analysis, the system is unstable for all longitudinal locations of the turret and pre-tensions examined, but the instability weakens as the turret is moved forward, and the pre-tension is increased. The use of a suitable dynamic-positioning system can control the horizontal motions, avoiding the instability. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Influence of motion coupling and nonlinear effects on parametric roll for a floating production storage and offloading platform

PubMed Central

Greco, M.; Lugni, C.; Faltinsen, O. M.

2015-01-01

Occurrence and features of parametric roll (PR) on a weather-vaning floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) platform with a turret single-point mooring-line system are examined. The main focus is on the relevance of motions coupling and nonlinear effects on this phenomenon and on more general unstable conditions as well as on the occurrence and severity of water on deck. This work was motivated by recent experiments on an FPSO model without mooring systems highlighting the occurrence of parametric resonance owing to roll–yaw coupling. A three-dimensional numerical hybrid potential-flow seakeeping solver was able to capture this behaviour. The same method, extended to include the mooring lines, is adopted here to investigate the platform behaviour for different incident wavelengths, steepnesses, headings, locations of the turret and pretensions. From the results, sway and yaw tend to destabilize the system, also bringing chaotic features. The sway–roll–yaw coupling widens the existence region of PR resonance and increases PR severity; it also results in a larger amount of shipped water, especially at smaller wavelength-to-ship length ratio and larger steepness. The chaotic features are excited when a sufficiently large yaw amplitude is reached. Consistently, a simplified stability analysis showed the relevance of nonlinear-restoring coefficients, first those connected with the sway–yaw coupling then those associated with the roll–yaw coupling, both destabilizing. From the stability analysis, the system is unstable for all longitudinal locations of the turret and pre-tensions examined, but the instability weakens as the turret is moved forward, and the pre-tension is increased. The use of a suitable dynamic-positioning system can control the horizontal motions, avoiding the instability. PMID:25512590

Quantum chemical calculations of interatomic potentials for computer simulation of solids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

A comprehensive mathematical model by which the collective behavior of a very large number of atoms within a metal or alloy can accurately be simulated was developed. Work was done in order to predict and modify the strength of materials to suit our technological needs. The method developed is useful in studying atomic interactions related to dislocation motion and crack extension.

3-D Simulation of Tectonic Evolution in Mariana with a Coupled Model of Plate Subduction and Back-Arc Spreading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashima, A.; Matsu'Ura, M.

2006-12-01

We obtained the expressions for internal deformation fields due to a moment tensor in an elastic-viscoelastic layered holf-space. This unified formulation of internal deformation fields for shear faulting and crack opening enabled us to deal with the problem of tectonic deformation at a composite type of plate boundary zones. The tectonic deformation can be ascribed to mechanical interaction at plate boundaries, which make a closed circuit with the mode of relative plate motion changing from divergence to convergence through transcurrent motion. One of the rational ways to represent mechanical interaction at plate boundaries is specifying the increase rates of normal or tangential displacement discontinuity across plate interfaces. On the basis of such a basic idea we developed a 3-D simulation model for the nonlinear, coupled system of plate subduction and back-arc spreading in Mariana. Through numerical simulations we revealed the evolution process of back-arc spreading. At the first stage, steady plate subduction (shear faulting at a plate interface) gradually forms tensile stress fields in the back-arc region of the overriding plate. When the accumulated tensile stress reaches a critical level, back-arc spreading (crack opening) starts at a structurally weak portion of the overriding plate. The horizontal motion of the frontal part of the overriding plate due to back-arc spreading pushes out the plate boundary toward the oceanic plate. In steady-state plate subduction the shear stress acting on a plate interface must balance with the maximum frictional resistance (shear strength) of the plate interface. Therefore, the increase of shear stress at the plate interface leads to the increase of slip rate at the plate interface. The local increase of slip rate at the plate interface produces the additional tensile stress in the back-arc region. The increased tensile stress must be canceled out by the additional crack opening. Such a feedback mechanism between plate subduction and back-arc spreading is crucial to understand the development of back-ark spreading.

Life expectancy of modular Ti6Al4V hip implants: influence of stress and environment.

PubMed

Chandra, A; Ryu, J J; Karra, P; Shrotriya, P; Tvergaard, V; Gaisser, M; Weik, T

2011-11-01

Stress dependent electrochemical dissolution is identified as one of the key mechanisms governing surface degradation in fretting and crevice corrosion of biomedical implants. The present study focuses on delineating the roles of mechanical stress and chemical conditions on the life expectancy of modular hip implants. First, material removal on a stressed surface of Ti6Al4V subjected to single asperity contact is investigated experimentally to identify the influence of contact load, in-plane stress and chemical environment on mean wear rates. A range of known stress levels are applied to the specimen while its surface is mechanically stimulated in different non-reactive to oxidizing aqueous environments. Evolution of surface degradation is monitored, and its mechanism is elucidated. This phase allows estimation of Preston Constant which is later used in the analysis. Second phase of the work is semi-analytical and computational, where, based on the estimated Preston constant and other material and process parameters, the scratch propensity (consisting of magnitude of scratch depth and their frequency per unit area) due to micro-motion in modular hip implants is estimated. The third phase views these scratches as initial notches and utilizes a mixed-mode fatigue crack propagation model to estimate the critical crack length for onset of instability. The number of loading cycles needed to reach this critical crack length is then labeled as the expected life of the implant under given mechanical and chemical conditions. Implications of different material and process conditions to life expectancy of orthopedic implants are discussed. It is observed that transverse micro-motion, compared to longitudinal micro-motion, plays a far more critical role in determining the implant life. Patient body weight, as well as proximity of the joint fluid to its iso-electric point play key roles in determining wear rates and associated life expectancies of modular hip implants. Sustained aeration of joint fluid, as well as proper tolerancing of mating surfaces, along with a proper choice of material microstructure may be utilized to extend implant life. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Combined Effects of Fatigue and Surface Instability on Jump Biomechanics in Elite Athletes.

PubMed

Prieske, Olaf; Demps, Marie; Lesinski, Melanie; Granacher, Urs

2017-09-01

The present study aimed to examine the effects of fatigue and surface instability on kinetic and kinematic jump performance measures. Ten female and 10 male elite volleyball players (18±2 years) performed repetitive vertical double-leg box jumps until failure. Pre and post fatigue, jump height/performance index, ground reaction force and knee flexion/valgus angles were assessed during drop and countermovement jumps on stable and unstable surfaces. Fatigue, surface condition, and sex resulted in significantly lower drop jump performance and ground reaction force (p≤0.031, 1.1≤d≤3.5). Additionally, drop jump knee flexion angles were significantly lower following fatigue (p=0.006, d=1.5). A significant fatigue×surface×sex interaction (p=0.020, d=1.2) revealed fatigue-related decrements in drop jump peak knee flexion angles under unstable conditions and in men only. Knee valgus angles were higher on unstable compared to stable surfaces during drop jumps and in females compared to males during drop and countermovement jumps (p≤0.054, 1.0≤d≤1.1). Significant surface×sex interactions during countermovement jumps (p=0.002, d=1.9) indicated that knee valgus angles at onset of ground contact were significantly lower on unstable compared to stable surfaces in males but higher in females. Our findings revealed that fatigue and surface instability resulted in sex-specific knee motion strategies during jumping in elite volleyball players. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Brittle Fracture Mechanics of Snow : In Situ Testing and Distinct Element Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faillettaz, J.; Daudon, D.; Louchet, F.

A snow slab avalanche release usually results from the rupture of the snow cover at the interface between an upper layer (slab) and an underlying substrate. Amazingly, the models proposed so far to predict this kind of rupture were only based on continuum mechanics, as they did not take into account the existing cracks or cohesion defects at the interface between the two layers, and their possible unstable propagation that eventually triggers the avalanche. This is why the present work, essentially devoted to human triggered avalanches, is based instead on Griffith's fracture approach, widely used in modelling brittle fracture of materials. The possible rupture scenario involves a propagation in a shear mode of a "basal crack" nucleated and gradually grown at the interface by the skier's weight, followed by a mode I opening and propagation of a "crown crack" at the top of the sheared zone. Different avalanche sizes are predicted according whether the basal crack propagation reaches or not the Griffith's instabil- ity size before crown crack opening (Louchet 2000). Accurate predictions therefore require a precise knowledge of snow toughness values in both modes. A theoretical estimation of toughness considering snow as an ice foam was proposed by Kirchner and Michot (2000), but the question of whether these results may be extended to an assembly of sintered grains is still open. A mode I toughness measurement of snow was also published for the first time by Kirchner and Michot on samples gathered in the Vosges range. In the present work, we developed an experimental set similar to Michot's, in order to measure mode I toughness: a vertical crack of increasing size is gradually machined from the top surface in an horizontal snow beam until failure takes place under its own weight. The toughness value is computed from the snow weight and the crack length at the onset of rapid crack propagation. A similar device was designed for mode II testing, but is still under development. The experimental cam- paign carried out in the Alps during the 2000-2001 winter on homogeneous sintered snow with a density of 200 kg/m3 (typical of a snow slab) gave results of the same or- der of magnitude as Michot's. A numerical modeling of these toughness experiments was performed using a distinct element code, considering snow as a cohesive granu- lar material. Both crack propagation and rupture patterns are in close agreement with experiments. References: Kirchner, Michot, Suzuki 2000 Fracture thoughness of snow in tension 1 Philisophical Magazine A, vol 80,N5, p1265-1272. Louchet 2001,A transition in dry snow slab avalanche triggering modes, Annales de glaciologie, vol 32,Symphosium on Snow, Avalanches and Impact of the Frest Cover, Innsbruck,Austria,22-26 may 2000, p2285-289 2

Time resolving beam position measurement and analysis of beam unstable movement in PSR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aleksandrov, A. V.

2000-11-01

Precise measurement of beam centroid movement is very important for understanding the fast transverse instability in the Los Alamos Proton Storage Ring (PSR). Proton bunch in the PSR is long thus different parts of the bunch can have different betatron phase and move differently therefore time resolving position measurement is needed. Wide band strip line BPM can be adequate if proper processing algorithm is used. In this work we present the results of the analysis of unstable transverse beam motion using time resolving processing algorithm. Suggested algorithm allows to calculate transverse position of different parts of the beam on each turn, then beam centroid movement on successive turns can be developed in series of plane travelling waves in the beam frame of reference thus providing important information on instability development. Some general features of fast transverse instability, unknown before, are discovered.

Rheodynamic model of cardiac pressure pulsations.

PubMed

Petrov, V G; Nikolov, S G

1999-03-15

To analyse parametrically (in terms of the qualitative theory of dynamical systems) the mechanical influence of inertia, resistance (positive and negative), elasticity and other global properties of the heart-muscle on the left ventricular pressure, an active rheodynamic model based on the Newtons's principles is proposed. The equation of motion of the heart mass centre is derived from an energy conservation law balancing the rate of mechanical (kinetic and potential) energy variation and the power of chemical energy influx and dissipative energy outflux. A corresponding dynamical system of two ordinary differential equations is obtained and parametrically analysed in physiological conditions. As a result, the following main conclusion is made: in physiological norm, because of the heart electrical activity, its equilibrium state is unstable and around it, mechanical self-oscillations emerge. In case the electrical activity ceases, an inverse phase reconstruction occurs during which the unstable equilibrium state of the system becomes stable and the self-oscillations disappear.

Local Stable and Unstable Manifolds and Their Control in Nonautonomous Finite-Time Flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Balasuriya, Sanjeeva

2016-08-01

It is well known that stable and unstable manifolds strongly influence fluid motion in unsteady flows. These emanate from hyperbolic trajectories, with the structures moving nonautonomously in time. The local directions of emanation at each instance in time is the focus of this article. Within a nearly autonomous setting, it is shown that these time-varying directions can be characterised through the accumulated effect of velocity shear. Connections to Oseledets spaces and projection operators in exponential dichotomies are established. Availability of data for both infinite- and finite-time intervals is considered. With microfluidic flow control in mind, a methodology for manipulating these directions in any prescribed time-varying fashion by applying a local velocity shear is developed. The results are verified for both smoothly and discontinuously time-varying directions using finite-time Lyapunov exponent fields, and excellent agreement is obtained.

Exploring Stability of General Relativistic Accretion Disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korobkin, Oleg; Abdikamalov, Ernazar; Schnetter, Erik; Stergioulas, Nikolaos; Zink, Burkhard

2011-04-01

Self-gravitating relativistic disks around black holes can form as transient structures in a number of astrophysical scenarios, involving core collapse of massive stars and mergers of compact ob jects. I will present results on our recent study of the stability of such disks against runaway and non-axisymmetric instabilities, which we explore using three-dimensional hydrodynamics simulations in full general relativity. All of our models develop unstable non-axisymmetric modes on a dynamical timescale. We observe two distinct types of instabilities: the Papaloizou-Pringle and the so-called intermediate type instabilities. The development of the non-axisymmetric mode with azimuthal number m=1 is accompanied by an outspiraling motion of the black hole, which significantly amplifies the growth rate of the m=1 mode in some cases. We will discuss the types, growth rates and pattern speeds of the unstable modes, as well as the detectability of the gravitational waves from such objects.

Nanoscale origins of the damage tolerance of the high-entropy alloy CrMnFeCoNi

DOE PAGES

Zhang, ZiJiao; Mao, M. M.; Wang, Jiangwei; ...

2015-12-09

Damage tolerance can be an elusive characteristic of structural materials requiring both high strength and ductility, properties that are often mutually exclusive. High-entropy alloys are of interest in this regard. Specifically, the single-phase CrMnFeCoNi alloy displays tensile strength levels of ~1 GPa, excellent ductility (~60–70%) and exceptional fracture toughness (KJIc>200M Pa√m). Here through the use of in situ straining in an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope, we report on the salient atomistic to micro-scale mechanisms underlying the origin of these properties. We identify a synergy of multiple deformation mechanisms, rarely achieved in metallic alloys, which generates high strength, work hardening andmore » ductility, including the easy motion of Shockley partials, their interactions to form stacking-fault parallelepipeds, and arrest at planar slip bands of undissociated dislocations. In conclusion, we further show that crack propagation is impeded by twinned, nanoscale bridges that form between the near-tip crack faces and delay fracture by shielding the crack tip.« less

Nanoscale origins of the damage tolerance of the high-entropy alloy CrMnFeCoNi

PubMed Central

Zhang, ZiJiao; Mao, M. M.; Wang, Jiangwei; Gludovatz, Bernd; Zhang, Ze; Mao, Scott X.; George, Easo P.; Yu, Qian; Ritchie, Robert O.

2015-01-01

Damage tolerance can be an elusive characteristic of structural materials requiring both high strength and ductility, properties that are often mutually exclusive. High-entropy alloys are of interest in this regard. Specifically, the single-phase CrMnFeCoNi alloy displays tensile strength levels of ∼1 GPa, excellent ductility (∼60–70%) and exceptional fracture toughness (KJIc>200 MPa√m). Here through the use of in situ straining in an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope, we report on the salient atomistic to micro-scale mechanisms underlying the origin of these properties. We identify a synergy of multiple deformation mechanisms, rarely achieved in metallic alloys, which generates high strength, work hardening and ductility, including the easy motion of Shockley partials, their interactions to form stacking-fault parallelepipeds, and arrest at planar slip bands of undissociated dislocations. We further show that crack propagation is impeded by twinned, nanoscale bridges that form between the near-tip crack faces and delay fracture by shielding the crack tip. PMID:26647978

Underwater manipulator

DOEpatents

Schrum, P.B.; Cohen, G.H.

1993-04-20

Self-contained, waterproof, water-submersible, remote-controlled apparatus is described for manipulating a device, such as an ultrasonic transducer for measuring crack propagation on an underwater specimen undergoing shock testing. The subject manipulator includes metal bellows for transmittal of angular motions without the use of rotating shaft seals or O-rings. Inside the manipulator, a first stepper motor controls angular movement. In the preferred embodiment, the bellows permit the first stepper motor to move an ultrasonic transducer [plus minus]45 degrees in a first plane and a second bellows permit a second stepper motor to move the transducer [plus minus]10 degrees in a second plane orthogonal to the first. In addition, an XY motor-driven table provides XY motion.

Voyager 2 Color Image of Enceladus, Almost Full Disk

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

This color Voyager 2 image mosaic shows the water-ice-covered surface of Enceladus, one of Saturn's icy moons. Enceladus' diameter of just 500 km would fit across the state of Arizona, yet despite its small size Enceladus exhibits one of the most interesting surfaces of all the icy satellites. Enceladus reflects about 90% of the incident sunlight (about like fresh-fallen snow), placing it among the most reflective objects in the Solar System. Several geologic terrains have superposed crater densities that span a factor of at least 500, thereby indicating huge differences in the ages of these terrains. It is possible that the high reflectivity of Enceladus' surface results from continuous deposition of icy particles from Saturn's E-ring, which in fact may originate from icy volcanoes on Enceladus' surface. Some terrains are dominated by sinuous mountain ridges from 1 to 2 km high (3300 to 6600 feet), whereas other terrains are scarred by linear cracks, some of which show evidence for possible sideways fault motion such as that of California's infamous San Andreas fault. Some terrains appear to have formed by separation of icy plates along cracks, and other terrains are exceedingly smooth at the resolution of this image. The implication carried by Enceladus' surface is that this tiny ice ball has been geologically active and perhaps partially liquid in its interior for much of its history. The heat engine that powers geologic activity here is thought to be elastic deformation caused by tides induced by Enceladus' orbital motion around Saturn and the motion of another moon, Dione.

Astypalaea Linea: A Large-Scale Strike-Slip Fault on Europa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tufts, B. Randall; Greenberg, Richard; Hoppa, Gregory; Geissler, Paul

1999-09-01

Astypalaea Linea is an 810-km strike-slip fault, located near the south pole of Europa. In length, it rivals the San Andreas Fault in California, and it is the largest strike-slip fault yet known on Europa. The fault was discovered using Voyager 2 images, based upon the presence of familiar strike-slip features including linearity, pull-aparts, and possible braids, and upon the offset of multiple piercing points. Fault displacement is 42 km, right-lateral, in the southern and central parts and probably throughout. Pull-aparts present along the fault trace probably are gaps in the lithosphere bounded by vertical cracks, and which opened due to fault motion and filled with material from below. Crosscutting relationships suggest the fault to be of intermediate relative age. The fault may have initiated as a crack due to tension from combined diurnal tides and nonsynchronous rotation, according to the tectonic model of R. Greenberg et al. (1998a, Icarus135, 64-78). Under the influence of varying diurnal tides, strike-slip offset may have occurred through a process called “walking,” which depends upon an inelastic lithospheric response to displacement. Alternatively, fault displacement may have been driven by currents in the theorized Europan ocean, which may have created simple shear structures such as braids. The discovery of Astypalaea Linea extends the geographical range of lateral motion on Europa. Such motion requires the presence of a decoupling zone of ductile ice or liquid water, a sufficiently rigid lithosphere, and a mechanism to consume surface area.

Combustion Instabilities In Solid Propellant Rocket Motors

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-01-01

instability in a self-excited system, sketched in Figure 1.5(a). In contrast, the initial transient in a linear system forced by an invariant external agent ...because the driving agent supplies only ¯nite power. (a) (b) Figure 1.5. Transient behavior of (a) Self Excited Linearly Unstable Motions; (b) Forced...the vibration of a Helmholtz resonator obtained, for example, by blowing over the open end of a bottle. The cause in a combustion chamber may be the

Novel Magnetic Devices

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-10-12

Vincent, Magnetism Magnetic Materials (LAW3MO5), Vifia del Mar, Chile, December 11-15, 2005. 5. Nanomagnetism, Ivan K. Schuller, Pan America Advanced Study Institute, PASI 2007, Zacatecas , Mexico , June 19, 2007. 6 ...project explored the design, preparation, measurement and theoretical study of these novel magnetic devices. Modem thin film techniques (sputtering and...results to motion associated with the unstable nature of mechanical contacts In order to exploit BMR from a device point of view (or to make it useful in a

The Production of Turbulence in Boundary Layers -- The Role of Microscale Coherent Motions.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-06-01

unstable and it breaks up as it moves away from the wall. The wall layer must be thin and vortex stretching, due to inviscid image effects, dominate...how a Typical eddy ultimately creates the long streaks is not clear. It is entirely possible that the viscous image of the rolled up vorticity forms...clarified, especially the formation of the long streaky structure, and secondary hairpin vorticity. It appears that the outer region microscale coherent

Image-based reconstruction of the Newtonian dynamics of solar coronal ejecta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uritsky, Vadim M.; Thompson, Barbara J.

2016-10-01

We present a new methodology for analyzing rising and falling dynamics of unstable coronal material as represented by high-cadence SDO AIA images. The technique involves an adaptive spatiotemporal tracking of propagating intensity gradients and their characterization in terms of time-evolving areas swept out by the position vector originated from the Sun disk center. The measured values of the areal velocity and acceleration are used to obtain quantitative information on the angular momentum and acceleration along the paths of the rising and falling coronal plasma. In the absence of other forces, solar gravitation results in purely ballistic motions consistent with the Kepler's second law; non-central forces such as the Lorentz force introduce non-zero torques resulting in more complex motions. The developed algorithms enable direct evaluation of the line-of-sight component of the net torque applied to a unit mass of the ejected coronal material which is proportional to the image-plane projection of the observed areal acceleration. The current implementation of the method cannot reliably distinguish torque modulations caused by the coronal force field from those imposed by abrupt changes of plasma mass density and nontrivial projection effects. However, it can provide valid observational constraints on the evolution of large-scale unstable magnetic topologies driving major solar-coronal eruptions as demonstrated in the related talk by B. Thompson et al.

The role of trunk muscles in sitting balance control in people with low back pain.

PubMed

Freddolini, Marco; Strike, Siobhan; Lee, Raymond Y W

2014-12-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the muscular activities and kinetics of the trunk during unstable sitting in healthy and LBP subjects. Thirty-one healthy subjects and twenty-three LBP subjects were recruited. They were sat on a custom-made chair mounted on a force plate. Each subject was asked to regain balance after the chair was tilted backward at 20°, and then released. The motions of the trunk and trunk muscle activity were examined. The internal muscle moment and power at the hip and lumbar spine joints were calculated using the force plate and motion data. No significant differences were found in muscle moment and power between healthy and LBP subjects (p>0.05). The duration of contraction of various trunk muscles and co-contraction were significantly longer in the LBP subjects (p<0.05) when compared to healthy subjects, and the reaction times of the muscles were also significantly reduced in LBP subjects (p<0.05). LBP subjects altered their muscle strategies to maintain balance during unstable sitting, but these active mechanisms appear to be effective as trunk balance was not compromised and the internal moment pattern remained similar. The changes in muscle strategies may be the causes of LBP or the result of LBP with an attempt to protect the spine. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Using glass-graded zirconia to increase delamination growth resistance in porcelain/zirconia dental structures.

PubMed

Chai, Herzl; Mieleszko, Adam J; Chu, Stephen J; Zhang, Yu

2018-01-01

Porcelain fused to zirconia (PFZ) restorations are widely used in prosthetic dentistry. However, their tendency to delaminate along the P/Z interface remains a practical problem so that assessing and improving the interfacial strength are important design aspects. This work examines the effect of modifying the zirconia veneering surface with an in-house felspathic glass on the interfacial fracture resistance of fused P/Z. Three material systems are studied: porcelain fused to zirconia (control) and porcelain fused to glass-graded zirconia with and without the presence of a glass interlayer. The specimens were loaded in a four-point-bend fixture with the porcelain veneer in tension. The evolution of damage is followed with the aid of a video camera. The interfacial fracture energy G C was determined with the aid of a FEA, taking into account the stress shielding effects due to the presence of adjacent channel cracks. Similarly to a previous study on PFZ specimens, the fracture sequence consisted of unstable growth of channel cracks in the veneer followed by stable cracking along the P/Z interface. However, the value of GC for the graded zirconia was approximately 3 times that of the control zirconia, which is due to the good adhesion between porcelain and the glass network structure on the zirconia surface. Combined with its improved bonding to resin-based cements, increased resistance to surface damage and good esthetic quality, graded zirconia emerges as a viable material concept for dental restorations. Copyright © 2017 The Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A formational model for the polygonal terrains of Mars: Taking a crack at the genesis of the Martian polygons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wenrich, M. L.; Christensen, P. R.

1993-01-01

The mechanism for the genesis of the polygonal terrains in Acidalia and Utopia Planitia has long been sought: however, no completely satisfying model was put forth that characterizes the evolution of these complexly patterned terrains. The polygons are roughly hexagonal but some are not entirely enclosed by fractures. These polygonal features range in widths from approximately 5 to 20 km. Several origins were proposed that describe the polygon borders as desiccation cracks, columnar jointing in a cooled lava, or frost-wedge features. These tension-induced cracking hypotheses were addressed by Pechmann, who convincingly disputes these mechanisms of formation based on scale magnitude difficulties and morphology. Pechmann suggests instead that the cracks delineating the 5-20-km-wide polygons on the northern plains of Mars are graben resulting from deep-seated, uniform, horizontal tension. The difficulty with this hypothesis is that no analogous polygonal forms are known to have originated by tectonism on Earth. McGill and Hills propose that the polygonal terrains on Mars resulted from either rapid desiccation of sediments or cooling of volcanics coupled with differential compaction of the material over a buried irregular topographic surface. They suggest that fracturing was enhanced over the areas of positive relief and was suppressed above the topographic lows. McGill and Hills suggest that the spacing of the topographic highs primarily controls the size of the Martian polygons and the physics of the shrinkage process is a secondary concern. Ray et. al. conducted a terrestrial study of patterned ground in periglacial areas of the U.S. to determine the process responsible for polygonal ground formation. They developed a model for polygon formation in which convection of seasonal melt water above a permafrost layer, driven by an unstable density stratification, differentially melts the permafrost interface, causing it to become undulatory.

Detecting the transition to failure: wavelet analysis of multi-scale crack patterns at different confining pressures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizzo, R. E.; Healy, D.; Farrell, N. J.

2017-12-01

Numerous laboratory brittle deformation experiments have shown that a rapid transition exists in the behaviour of porous materials under stress: at a certain point, early formed tensile cracks interact and coalesce into a `single' narrow zone, the shear plane, rather than remaining distributed throughout the material. In this work, we present and apply a novel image processing tool which is able to quantify this transition between distributed (`stable') damage accumulation and localised (`unstable') deformation, in terms of size, density, and orientation of cracks at the point of failure. Our technique, based on a two-dimensional (2D) continuous Morlet wavelet analysis, can recognise, extract and visually separate the multi-scale changes occurring in the fracture network during the deformation process. We have analysed high-resolution SEM-BSE images of thin sections of Hopeman Sandstone (Scotland, UK) taken from core plugs deformed under triaxial conditions, with increasing confining pressure. Through this analysis, we can determine the relationship between the initial orientation of tensile microcracks and the final geometry of the through-going shear fault, exploiting the total areal coverage of the analysed image. In addition, by comparing patterns of fractures in thin sections derived from triaxial (σ1>σ2=σ3=Pc) laboratory experiments conducted at different confining pressures (Pc), we can quantitatively explore the relationship between the observed geometry and the inferred mechanical processes. The methodology presented here can have important implications for larger-scale mechanical problems related to major fault propagation. Just as a core plug scale fault localises through extension and coalescence of microcracks, larger faults also grow by extension and coalescence of segments in a multi-scale process by which microscopic cracks can ultimately lead to macroscopic faulting. Consequently, wavelet analysis represents a useful tool for fracture pattern recognition, applicable to the detection of the transitions occurring at the time of catastrophic rupture.

Microstructural studies of hydrogen damage in metastable stainless steels. Ph.D. Thesis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, S.

1994-12-31

The primary objective of this dissertation is to determine the role of microstructure in hydrogen-induced damage in austenitic stainless steels. Specific attention was focused on the interactions between hydrogen and the austenitic grain, twin boundaries and the matrix, and the associated phase transformations. An experimental program of research was conducted to determine the phase transformation and cracking path in hydrogen charged stainless steels. Normal-purity AISI 304 (Fe18CrYNi) and high-purity 305 (Fe18Cr12Ni) solution-annealet stainless steels were examined. The steels were cathodically charged with hydrogen at 1, 10 and 100 mA/sq cm at room temperature for 5 min. to 32 hours, inmore » an 1N H2SO4 solution with 0.25 g/l of NaAsO2 added as a hydrogen recombination poison. Resultant changes in microstructure and hydrogen damage due to charging and subsequent room temperature aging were studied by x-ray diffraction, optical microscope (in the Nomarski mode), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A new phase in 305 stainless steel was observed, and was identified as an epsilon(*) (hcp) hydride due to hydrogen charging. Two new phases in 304 stainless steel were found as gamma(*) (fcc) and epsilon(*) hydrides from hydrogen charging. The hydride formation mechanisms during charging were: (1) gamma yields gamma(*) hydride and (2) gamma yields epsilon yields epsilon(*) hydride. These hydrides are unstable and decomposed during room temperature aging in air. The decomposition mechanisms were: (1) epsilon(*) hydride (hcp) yields expanded epsilon (hcp) phase yields a (bcc) phase; (2) gamma(*) hydride yields gamma phase. The grain and twin boundary cracks were the results of charging and identified as the preferred cracking sites. Transgranular crack initiation and growth accompanied the decomposition of hydrides and were controlled by hydrogen outgassing during room temperature aging.« less

Physical analysis of the process of cavitation in xylem sap.

PubMed

Shen, Fanyi; Gao, Rongfu; Liu, Wenji; Zhang, Wenjie

2002-06-01

Recent studies have confirmed that cavitation in xylem is caused by air bubbles. We analyzed expansion of a preexistent bubble adhering to a crack in a conduit wall and a bubble formed by the passage of air through a pore of a pit membrane, a process known as air seeding. We consider that there are two equilibrium states for a very small air bubble in the xylem: one is temporarily stable with a bubble radius r1 at point s1 on the curve P(r) relating pressure within the bubble (P) with bubble radius (r); the other is unstable with a bubble radius r2 at point s2 on Pr (where r1 < r2). In each equilibrium state, the bubble collapse pressure (2sigma/r, where sigma is surface tension of water) is balanced by the pressure difference across its surface. In the case of a bubble from a crack in a conduit wall, which is initially at point s1, expansion will occur steadily as water potential decreases. The bubble will burst only if the xylem pressure drops below a threshold value. A formula giving the threshold pressure for bubble bursting is proposed. In the case of an air seed entering a xylem conduit through a pore in a pit membrane, its initial radius may be r2 (i.e., the radius of the pore by which the air seed entered the vessel) at point s2 on Pr. Because the bubble is in an unstable equilibrium when entering the conduit, it can either expand or contract to point s1. As water vaporizes into the air bubble at s2, P rises until it exceeds the gas pressure that keeps the bubble in equilibrium, at which point the bubble will burst and induce a cavitation event in accordance with the air-seeding hypothesis. However, other possible perturbations could make the air-seeded bubble contract to s1, in which case the bubble will burst at a threshold pressure proposed for a bubble expanding from a crack in a conduit wall. For this reason some cavitation events may take place at a xylem threshold pressure (Pl'*) other than that determined by the formula, Plp'* = -2sigma/rp, proposed by Sperry and Tyree (1988), which is applicable only to air-seeded bubbles at s2. The more general formula we propose for calculating the threshold pressure for bubble breaking is consistent with the results of published experiments.

Selectivity to Translational Egomotion in Human Brain Motion Areas

PubMed Central

Pitzalis, Sabrina; Sdoia, Stefano; Bultrini, Alessandro; Committeri, Giorgia; Di Russo, Francesco; Fattori, Patrizia; Galletti, Claudio; Galati, Gaspare

2013-01-01

The optic flow generated when a person moves through the environment can be locally decomposed into several basic components, including radial, circular, translational and spiral motion. Since their analysis plays an important part in the visual perception and control of locomotion and posture it is likely that some brain regions in the primate dorsal visual pathway are specialized to distinguish among them. The aim of this study is to explore the sensitivity to different types of egomotion-compatible visual stimulations in the human motion-sensitive regions of the brain. Event-related fMRI experiments, 3D motion and wide-field stimulation, functional localizers and brain mapping methods were used to study the sensitivity of six distinct motion areas (V6, MT, MST+, V3A, CSv and an Intra-Parietal Sulcus motion [IPSmot] region) to different types of optic flow stimuli. Results show that only areas V6, MST+ and IPSmot are specialized in distinguishing among the various types of flow patterns, with a high response for the translational flow which was maximum in V6 and IPSmot and less marked in MST+. Given that during egomotion the translational optic flow conveys differential information about the near and far external objects, areas V6 and IPSmot likely process visual egomotion signals to extract information about the relative distance of objects with respect to the observer. Since area V6 is also involved in distinguishing object-motion from self-motion, it could provide information about location in space of moving and static objects during self-motion, particularly in a dynamically unstable environment. PMID:23577096

Dynamic Rupture and Energy Partition in Models of Earthquake Faults

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Z.; Needleman, A.; Ben-Zion, Y.

2006-12-01

We study properties of dynamic rupture and the partition of energy between radiation and dissipative mechanisms using 2D finite element calculations. The goal is to improve the understanding of these processes on faults at different evolutionary stages associated with different levels of geometrical complexity and possible presence of contrasting elastic properties across the fault. The initial calculations employ homogeneous media and a planar internal interface governed by a general rate- and state-dependent friction law that accounts for the gradual response of shear stress to abrupt changes of normal stress. Ruptures are initiated by gradually increasing the shear traction in a limited nucleation zone near the origin. By changing the rate dependency of the friction law and the size of the nucleation zone, we obtain four rupture modes: (i) supershear crack-like rupture; (ii) subshear crack-like rupture; (iii) subshear single pulse; and (iv) supershear train of pulses. Increasing the initial shear stress produces a transition from a subshear crack to a supershear crack, while increasing the rate dependency of the friction produces self-healing and the transition from a crack-like to a pulse mode of rupture. Properties of the nucleation process can strongly affect the rupture mode. In the cases examined, the total release of strain energy (over the same propagation distance) decreases following the order: supershear crack, subshear crack, train of pulses and single pulse. The ratio of the radiated kinetic energy to the energy dissipated in friction is about 5% for the supershear crack case and about 2% for the other three cases. Future work will involve similar calculations accounting for the generation of plastic strain in the bulk, the material contrast across the fault, and the addition of cohesive surfaces in the bulk to allow for the generation of new surfaces. The study may provide fundamental information on rupture processes in geologically-relevant circumstances and improve the understanding of physical limits on extreme ground motion. The results may be used to check assumptions made in observational works and may help to guide new observational research.

Two Stages of Impact Fracture of Polycrystalline ZnS and ZnSe Compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shcherbakov, I. P.; Dunaev, A. A.; Chmel', A. E.

2018-04-01

Mechanoluminescence (ML) in ductile solids is caused by the motion of charged dislocations in the deformable material. Interatomic bond ruptures followed by electronic structure reconfiguration are the main source of ML in brittle bodies. We studied ML in ceramics composed of mixed ionic/covalent ZnS and ZnSe compounds, which are generated during impact loading higher than the limit deformation. Depending on synthesis method and thermal treatment, the resulting ceramics had different size and geometry of grains and intergrain boundary structure, which presumably may have a significant effect on the dislocation glide. In both materials, the time sweeps of ML pulses have two well-resolved peaks. The position of the peaks along the time axis is substantially dependent on the size of ceramic-forming grains and, to a smaller extent, on the barrier properties of intergrain boundaries. The first peak is associated with plastic deformation preceding disintegration of the crystal structure. The second peak emerges upon crack nucleation as interatomic bonds are ruptured and the material is undergoing local deformation in tips of propagating cracks. The distributions of ML pulse amplitudes (the dependences between the number of pulses and their amplitude) calculated for both peaks individually follow the power law, which demonstrates that the electronic processes having different excitation mechanisms (dislocation motion vs bond rupture) are correlated.

Moment Tensor Inversions of the M1.7+ Earthquakes in Basel. Switzerland Reveal Predominant Shear Dislocations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guilhem, A.; Walter, F. T.

2013-12-01

We investigate moment tensor solutions of nearly 30 magnitude (M) 1.7+ earthquakes that occurred in Basel, Switzerland during and after the simulation of the geothermal enhanced system between December 2nd and 8th 2006. In 2009, Deichmann and Ernst determined the focal mechanisms for these events using P-wave first-motions. They found clear evidence for double-couple mechanisms with no indications for substantial volumetric changes. This differs from evidences of composite type ruptures (i.e., shearing with isotropic motion) observed in other geothermal environments. Here, we use a similar approach for the computation of the moment tensor inversions to the one used by Guilhem et al. (2012) for M3 earthquakes in Geysers. We use a dataset from strong-motion stations located within 7 km from the epicenters, with data filtered between 0.5 and 3 Hz and integrated twice to displacement. The waveforms are inverted for both deviatoric and full moment tensor solutions. In addition, we perform a network sensitivity test (NSS) by computing 100 million random moment tensors for each event thus testing the sensitivity of the moment tensor solutions. Finally, because the injection of fluids in the ground can promote crack growth generating seismic events, we also compute a crack + double-couple inversion (Minson et al., 2007) for each of the studied earthquakes between December 2006 and May 2007. From this extensive search we find that the results of our different techniques converge. Moment tensor solutions are very similar to the first-motion focal mechanisms of Deichmann and Ernst (2009) and accordingly do not exhibit dominant volumetric changes except for a subset of events, which we discuss in some detail. References: Deichmann, N. and Ernst, J. (2009), Swiss J. Geosc. Guilhem, A., Dreger, D.S., Hutchings, L. J., and Johnson, L. (2012), AGU Fall meeting Minson, S. E., Dreger, D. S., Bürgmann, R., Kanamori, H., Larson, K. M. (2007), J. Geophys. Res.

Nonlinear stability of Halley comethosheath with transverse plasma motion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Srivastava, Krishna M.; Tsurutani, Bruce T.

1994-01-01

Weakly nonlinear Magneto Hydrodynamic (MHD) stability of the Halley cometosheath determined by the balance between the outward ion-neutral drag force and the inward Lorentz force is investigated including the transverse plasma motion as observed in the flanks with the help of the method of multiple scales. The eigenvalues and the eigenfunctions are obtained for the linear problem and the time evolution of the amplitude is obtained using the solvability condition for the solution of the second order problem. The diamagnetic cavity boundary and the adjacent layer of about 100 km thickness is found unstable for the travelling waves of certain wave numbers. Halley ionopause has been observed to have strong ripples with a wavelength of several hundred kilometers. It is found that nonlinear effects have stabilizing effect.

Periodic-disturbance accommodating control of the space station for asymptotic momentum management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Warren, Wayne; Wie, Bong; Geller, David

1989-01-01

Periodic-disturbance accommodating control is investigated for asymptotic momentum management of control moment gyros used as primary actuating devices for the Space Station. The proposed controller utilizes the concepts of quaternion feedback control and periodic-disturbance accommodation to achieve oscillations about the constant torque equilibrium attitude, while minimizing the control effort required. Three-axis coupled equations of motion, written in terms of quaternions, are derived for roll/yaw controller design and stability analysis. The quaternion feedback controller designed using the linear-quadratic regulator synthesis technique is shown to be robust for a wide range of pitch angles. It is also shown that the proposed controller tunes the open-loop unstable vehicle to a stable oscillatory motion which minimizes the control effort needed for steady-state operations.

Investigation of visually induced motion sickness in dynamic 3D contents based on subjective judgment, heart rate variability, and depth gaze behavior.

PubMed

Wibirama, Sunu; Hamamoto, Kazuhiko

2014-01-01

Visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) is an important safety issue in stereoscopic 3D technology. Accompanying subjective judgment of VIMS with objective measurement is useful to identify not only biomedical effects of dynamic 3D contents, but also provoking scenes that induce VIMS, duration of VIMS, and user behavior during VIMS. Heart rate variability and depth gaze behavior are appropriate physiological indicators for such objective observation. However, there is no information about relationship between subjective judgment of VIMS, heart rate variability, and depth gaze behavior. In this paper, we present a novel investigation of VIMS based on simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ), electrocardiography (ECG), and 3D gaze tracking. Statistical analysis on SSQ data shows that nausea and disorientation symptoms increase as amount of dynamic motions increases (nausea: p<;0.005; disorientation: p<;0.05). To reduce VIMS, SSQ and ECG data suggest that user should perform voluntary gaze fixation at one point when experiencing vertical motion (up or down) and horizontal motion (turn left and right) in dynamic 3D contents. Observation of 3D gaze tracking data reveals that users who experienced VIMS tended to have unstable depth gaze than ones who did not experience VIMS.

Geometric chaos indicators and computations of the spherical hypertube manifolds of the spatial circular restricted three-body problem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guzzo, Massimiliano; Lega, Elena

2018-06-01

The circular restricted three-body problem has five relative equilibria L1 ,L2, . . . ,L5. The invariant stable-unstable manifolds of the center manifolds originating at the partially hyperbolic equilibria L1 ,L2 have been identified as the separatrices for the motions which transit between the regions of the phase-space which are internal or external with respect to the two massive bodies. While the stable and unstable manifolds of the planar problem have been extensively studied both theoretically and numerically, the spatial case has not been as deeply investigated. This paper is devoted to the global computation of these manifolds in the spatial case with a suitable finite time chaos indicator. The definition of the chaos indicator is not trivial, since the mandatory use of the regularizing Kustaanheimo-Stiefel variables may introduce discontinuities in the finite time chaos indicators. From the study of such discontinuities, we define geometric chaos indicators which are globally defined and smooth, and whose ridges sharply approximate the stable and unstable manifolds of the center manifolds of L1 ,L2. We illustrate the method for the Sun-Jupiter mass ratio, and represent the topology of the asymptotic manifolds using sections and three-dimensional representations.

An analytical study of the dual mass mechanical system stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolov, Svetoslav; Sinapov, Petko; Kralov, Ivan; Ignatov, Ignat

2011-12-01

In this paper an autonomous, nonlinear model of five ordinary differential equations modeling the motion of a dual mass mechanical system with universal joint is studied. The model is investigated qualitatively. On the base of the stability analysis performed, we obtain that the system is: i) in an equilibrium state, or ii) in a structurally unstable behavior when equilibrium states disappear. In case (i) the system is in a normal technical condition and in case (ii) hard break-downs take place.

The strange case of the missing apocentric librators in the 3:2 resonance. [in asteroidal belt

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ip, W.-H.

1976-01-01

From a comparison of the 2:1 and 3:2 resonances (in the asteroidal belt) two possible explanations to the absence of 3:2 apocentric librators are suggested. The first one is that such 3:2 resonant motion is dynamically unstable. The second interpretation requires the absence of near-circular orbits originally at 4 AU. The latter view, if correct, is inconsistent with cosmogonic models which predict the original orbits of the asteroids to be nearly circular.

Numerical Investigation of Statistical Turbulence Effects on Beam Propagation through 2-D Shear Mixing Layer

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

instrumental in helping me refine my grid and flow profile to produce my investigation flow field. Dr. Brooks and Dr. Grismer helped me by getting me current ...wavelength of the source and changes in the index of refraction from density changes in the medium. They are directly attributed to three physical phenomenon...Turbulence arises from injection of energy into the fluid causing the motion to become unstable. This source of this energy injection is usually

Picosecond amorphization of SiO2 stishovite under tension.

PubMed

Misawa, Masaaki; Ryuo, Emina; Yoshida, Kimiko; Kalia, Rajiv K; Nakano, Aiichiro; Nishiyama, Norimasa; Shimojo, Fuyuki; Vashishta, Priya; Wakai, Fumihiro

2017-05-01

It is extremely difficult to realize two conflicting properties-high hardness and toughness-in one material. Nano-polycrystalline stishovite, recently synthesized from Earth-abundant silica glass, proved to be a super-hard, ultra-tough material, which could provide sustainable supply of high-performance ceramics. Our quantum molecular dynamics simulations show that stishovite amorphizes rapidly on the order of picosecond under tension in front of a crack tip. We find a displacive amorphization mechanism that only involves short-distance collective motions of atoms, thereby facilitating the rapid transformation. The two-step amorphization pathway involves an intermediate state akin to experimentally suggested "high-density glass polymorphs" before eventually transforming to normal glass. The rapid amorphization can catch up with, screen, and self-heal a fast-moving crack. This new concept of fast amorphization toughening likely operates in other pressure-synthesized hard solids.

Modeling and simulation of combustion dynamics in lean-premixed swirl-stabilized gas-turbine engines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Ying

This research focuses on the modeling and simulation of combustion dynamics in lean-premixed gas-turbines engines. The primary objectives are: (1) to establish an efficient and accurate numerical framework for the treatment of unsteady flame dynamics; and (2) to investigate the parameters and mechanisms responsible for driving flow oscillations in a lean-premixed gas-turbine combustor. The energy transfer mechanisms among mean flow motions, periodic motions and background turbulent motions in turbulent reacting flow are first explored using a triple decomposition technique. Then a comprehensive numerical study of the combustion dynamics in a lean-premixed swirl-stabilized combustor is performed. The analysis treats the conservation equations in three dimensions and takes into account finite-rate chemical reactions and variable thermophysical properties. Turbulence closure is achieved using a large-eddy-simulation (LES) technique. The compressible-flow version of the Smagorinsky model is employed to describe subgrid-scale turbulent motions and their effect on large-scale structures. A level-set flamelet library approach is used to simulate premixed turbulent combustion. In this approach, the mean flame location is modeled using a level-set G-equation, where G is defined as a distance function. Thermophysical properties are obtained using a presumed probability density function (PDF) along with a laminar flamelet library. The governing equations and the associated boundary conditions are solved by means of a four-step Runge-Kutta scheme along with the implementation of the message passing interface (MPI) parallel computing architecture. The analysis allows for a detailed investigation into the interaction between turbulent flow motions and oscillatory combustion of a swirl-stabilized injector. Results show good agreement with an analytical solution and experimental data in terms of acoustic properties and flame evolution. A study of flame bifurcation from a stable state to an unstable state indicates that the inlet flow temperature and equivalence ratio are the two most important variables determining the stability characteristics of the combustor. Under unstable operating conditions, several physical processes responsible for driving combustion instabilities in the chamber have been identified and quantified. These processes include vortex shedding and acoustic interaction, coupling between the flame evolution and local flow oscillations, vortex and flame interaction and coupling between heat release and acoustic motions. The effects of inlet swirl number on the flow development and flame dynamics in the chamber are also carefully studied. In the last part of this thesis, an analytical model is developed using triple decomposition techniques to model the combustion response of turbulent premixed flames to acoustic oscillations.

Evaluation of adaptation to visually induced motion sickness based on the maximum cross-correlation between pulse transmission time and heart rate.

PubMed

Sugita, Norihiro; Yoshizawa, Makoto; Abe, Makoto; Tanaka, Akira; Watanabe, Takashi; Chiba, Shigeru; Yambe, Tomoyuki; Nitta, Shin-ichi

2007-09-28

Computer graphics and virtual reality techniques are useful to develop automatic and effective rehabilitation systems. However, a kind of virtual environment including unstable visual images presented to wide field screen or a head mounted display tends to induce motion sickness. The motion sickness induced in using a rehabilitation system not only inhibits effective training but also may harm patients' health. There are few studies that have objectively evaluated the effects of the repetitive exposures to these stimuli on humans. The purpose of this study is to investigate the adaptation to visually induced motion sickness by physiological data. An experiment was carried out in which the same video image was presented to human subjects three times. We evaluated changes of the intensity of motion sickness they suffered from by a subjective score and the physiological index rho(max), which is defined as the maximum cross-correlation coefficient between heart rate and pulse wave transmission time and is considered to reflect the autonomic nervous activity. The results showed adaptation to visually-induced motion sickness by the repetitive presentation of the same image both in the subjective and the objective indices. However, there were some subjects whose intensity of sickness increased. Thus, it was possible to know the part in the video image which related to motion sickness by analyzing changes in rho(max) with time. The physiological index, rho(max), will be a good index for assessing the adaptation process to visually induced motion sickness and may be useful in checking the safety of rehabilitation systems with new image technologies.

Passive swimming in viscous oscillatory flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jo, Ikhee; Huang, Yangyang; Zimmermann, Walter; Kanso, Eva

2016-12-01

Fluid-based locomotion at low Reynolds number is subject to the constraints of Purcell's scallop theorem: reciprocal shape kinematics identical under a time-reversal symmetry cannot cause locomotion. In particular, a single degree-of-freedom scallop undergoing opening and closing motions cannot swim. Most strategies for symmetry breaking and locomotion rely on direct control of the swimmer's shape kinematics. Less is known about indirect control via actuation of the fluid medium. To address how such indirect actuation strategies can lead to locomotion, we analyze a Λ -shaped model system analogous to Purcell's scallop but able to deform passively in oscillatory flows. Neutrally buoyant scallops undergo no net locomotion. We show that dense, elastic scallops can exhibit passive locomotion in zero-mean oscillatory flows. We examine the efficiency of swimming parallel to the background flow and analyze the stability of these motions. We observe transitions from stable to unstable swimming, including ordered transitions from fluttering to chaoticlike motions and tumbling. Our results demonstrate that flow oscillations can be used to passively actuate and control the motion of microswimmers, which may be relevant to applications such as surgical robots and cell sorting and manipulation in microfluidic devices.

A role of abdomen in butterfly's flapping flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayakumar, Jeeva; Senda, Kei; Yokoyama, Naoto

2017-11-01

Butterfly's forward flight with periodic flapping motion is longitudinally unstable, and control of the thoracic pitching angle is essential to stabilize the flight. This study aims to comprehend roles which the abdominal motion play in the pitching stability of butterfly's flapping flight by using a two-dimensional model. The control of the thoracic pitching angle by the abdominal motion is an underactuated problem because of the limit on the abdominal angle. The control input of the thorax-abdomen joint torque is obtained by the hierarchical sliding mode control in this study. Numerical simulations reveal that the control by the abdominal motion provides short-term pitching stabilization in the butterfly's flight. Moreover, the control input due to a large thorax-abdomen joint torque can counteract a quite large perturbation, and can return the pitching attitude to the periodic trajectory with a short recovery time. These observations are consistent with biologists' view that living butterflies use their abdomens as rudders. On the other hand, the abdominal control mostly fails in long-term pitching stabilization, because it cannot directly alter the aerodynamic forces. The control for the long-term pitching stabilization will also be discussed.

ESTIMATION OF CRACK-ARREST TOUGHNESS TRANSITION AND NDT TEMPERATURES FROM CHARPY FORCE-DISPLACEMENT IMPACT TRACES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sokolov, Mikhail A

2010-01-01

A force-displacement trace of a Charpy impact test of a reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steel in the transition range has a characteristic point, the so-called force at the end of unstable crack propagation , Fa. A two-parameter Weibull probability function is used to model the distribution of the Fa in Charpy tests performed at ORNL on different RPV steels in the unirradiated and irradiated conditions. These data have a good replication at a given test temperature, thus, the statistical analysis was applicable. It is shown that when temperature is normalized to TNDT (T-TNDT) or to T100a (T-T100a), the median Famore » values of different RPV steels have a tendency to form the same shape of temperature dependence. Depending on normalization temperature, TNDT or T100a, it suggests a universal shape of the temperature dependence of Fa for different RPV steels. The best fits for these temperature dependencies are presented. These dependencies are suggested for use in estimation of NDT or T100a from randomly generated Charpy impact tests. The maximum likelihood methods are used to derive equations to estimate TNDT and T100a from randomly generated Charpy impact tests.« less

Waveform inversion of volcano-seismic signals for an extended source

USGS Publications Warehouse

Nakano, M.; Kumagai, H.; Chouet, B.; Dawson, P.

2007-01-01

We propose a method to investigate the dimensions and oscillation characteristics of the source of volcano-seismic signals based on waveform inversion for an extended source. An extended source is realized by a set of point sources distributed on a grid surrounding the centroid of the source in accordance with the source geometry and orientation. The source-time functions for all point sources are estimated simultaneously by waveform inversion carried out in the frequency domain. We apply a smoothing constraint to suppress short-scale noisy fluctuations of source-time functions between adjacent sources. The strength of the smoothing constraint we select is that which minimizes the Akaike Bayesian Information Criterion (ABIC). We perform a series of numerical tests to investigate the capability of our method to recover the dimensions of the source and reconstruct its oscillation characteristics. First, we use synthesized waveforms radiated by a kinematic source model that mimics the radiation from an oscillating crack. Our results demonstrate almost complete recovery of the input source dimensions and source-time function of each point source, but also point to a weaker resolution of the higher modes of crack oscillation. Second, we use synthetic waveforms generated by the acoustic resonance of a fluid-filled crack, and consider two sets of waveforms dominated by the modes with wavelengths 2L/3 and 2W/3, or L and 2L/5, where W and L are the crack width and length, respectively. Results from these tests indicate that the oscillating signature of the 2L/3 and 2W/3 modes are successfully reconstructed. The oscillating signature of the L mode is also well recovered, in contrast to results obtained for a point source for which the moment tensor description is inadequate. However, the oscillating signature of the 2L/5 mode is poorly recovered owing to weaker resolution of short-scale crack wall motions. The triggering excitations of the oscillating cracks are successfully reconstructed. Copyright 2007 by the American Geophysical Union.

Shallow outgassing changes disrupt steady lava lake activity, Kilauea Volcano

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patrick, M. R.; Orr, T. R.; Swanson, D. A.; Lev, E.

2015-12-01

Persistent lava lakes are a testament to sustained magma supply and outgassing in basaltic systems, and the surface activity of lava lakes has been used to infer processes in the underlying magmatic system. At Kilauea Volcano, Hawai`i, the lava lake in Halema`uma`u Crater has been closely studied for several years with webcam imagery, geophysical, petrological and gas emission techniques. The lava lake in Halema`uma`u is now the second largest on Earth, and provides an unprecedented opportunity for detailed observations of lava lake outgassing processes. We observe that steady activity is characterized by continuous southward motion of the lake's surface and slow changes in lava level, seismic tremor and gas emissions. This normal, steady activity can be abruptly interrupted by the appearance of spattering - sometimes triggered by rockfalls - on the lake surface, which abruptly shifts the lake surface motion, lava level and gas emissions to a more variable, unstable regime. The lake commonly alternates between this a) normal, steady activity and b) unstable behavior several times per day. The spattering represents outgassing of shallowly accumulated gas in the lake. Therefore, although steady lava lake behavior at Halema`uma`u may be deeply driven by upwelling of magma, we argue that the sporadic interruptions to this behavior are the result of shallow processes occurring near the lake surface. These observations provide a cautionary note that some lava lake behavior is not representative of deep-seated processes. This behavior also highlights the complex and dynamic nature of lava lake activity.

Modelling the graphite fracture mechanisms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jacquemoud, C.; Marie, S.; Nedelec, M.

2012-07-01

In order to define a design criterion for graphite components, it is important to identify the physical phenomena responsible for the graphite fracture, to include them in a more effective modelling. In a first step, a large panel of experiments have been realised in order to build up an important database; results of tensile tests, 3 and 4 point bending tests on smooth and notched specimens have been analysed and have demonstrated an important geometry related effects on the behavior up to fracture. Then, first simulations with an elastic or an elastoplastic bilinear constitutive law have not made it possiblemore » to simulate the experimental fracture stress variations with the specimen geometry, the fracture mechanisms of the graphite being at the microstructural scale. That is the reason why a specific F.E. model of the graphite structure has been developed in which every graphite grain has been meshed independently, the crack initiation along the basal plane of the particles as well as the crack propagation and coalescence have been modelled too. This specific model has been used to test two different approaches for fracture initiation: a critical stress criterion and two criteria of fracture mechanic type. They are all based on crystallographic considerations as a global critical stress criterion gave unsatisfactory results. The criteria of fracture mechanic type being extremely unstable and unable to represent the graphite global behaviour up to the final collapse, the critical stress criterion has been preferred to predict the results of the large range of available experiments, on both smooth and notched specimens. In so doing, the experimental observations have been correctly simulated: the geometry related effects on the experimental fracture stress dispersion, the specimen volume effects on the macroscopic fracture stress and the crack propagation at a constant stress intensity factor. In addition, the parameters of the criterion have been related to experimental observations: the local crack initiation stress of 8 MPa corresponds to the non-linearity apparition on the global behavior observed experimentally and the the maximal critical stress defined for the particle of 30 MPa is equivalent to the fracture stress of notched specimens. This innovative combination of crack modelling and a local crystallographic critical stress criterion made it possible to understand that cleavage initiation and propagation in the graphite microstructure was driven by a mean critical stress criterion. (authors)« less

Modeling of slow crack propagation in heterogeneous rocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lengliné, Olivier; Stormo, Arne; Hansen, Alex; Schmittbuhl, Jean

2015-04-01

Crack propagation in heterogeneous media is a rich problem which involves the interplay of various physical processes. The problem has been intensively investigated theoretically, numerically, and experimentally, but a unifying model capturing all the experimental features has not been entirely achieved despite its broad range of implications in Earth sciences problems. The slow propagation of a crack front where long range elastic interactions are dominant, is of crucial importance to fill the gap between experiments and models. Several theoretical and numerical works have been devoted to quasi-static models. Such models give rise to an intermittent local activity characterized by a depinning transition and can be viewed as a critical phenomenon. However these models fail to reproduce all experimental conditions, notably the front morphology does not display any cross-over length with two different roughness exponents above and below the cross-over as observed experimentally. Here, we compare experimental observations of a slow interfacial crack propagation along an heterogeneous interface to numerical simulations from a cantilever fiber bundle model. The model consists of a planar set of brittle fibers between an elastic half-space and a rigid square root shaped plate which loads the system in a cantilever configuration. The latter is shown to provide an improved opening and stress field in the process zone around the crack tip. The model shares a similar scale invariant roughening of the crack front both at small and large scales and a similar power law distribution of the local velocity of the crack front to experiments. Implications for induced seismicity at the brittle-creep transition are discussed. We show that a creep route for induced seismicity is possible when heterogeneities exist along the fault. Indeed, seismic event occurrences in time and space are in strong relation with the development of the aseismic motion recorded during the experiment and the model. We also infer the statistical properties of the organization of the seismicity that shows strong space-time clustering. We conclude that aseismic processes might drive seismicity in the brittle-creep regime.

On the global circulation and the hurricane system of the Jovian atmosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mayr, H. G.; Meada, K.; Harris, I.

1981-01-01

An argument is made to support the proposal that Jupiter's red spot and the white and brown ovals are hurricanes or cyclones. Against the background of a convectively unstable troposphere, the general condition exists for the formation of hurricanes. The energy Jupiter emits must be transported upwards through the troposphere. If that transport is accelerated by the prevailing upward motions in the solar driven multicellular meridional circulation, eastward jets develop such as observed in the l region. But if that vertical transport is impeded by the prevailing downward motions in the meridional circulation, the atmosphere reacts and tends to maintain the process through the development of hurricanes. Dynamically induced by solar differential heating, an ordered latitudinal structure with alternating stability and instability is impressed on the troposphere to form alternating zonal strata where hurricanes are forbidden and permitted, respectively.

Cooperatively coupled motion with superradiant and subradiant atoms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Guin-Dar; Lin, Kuan-Ting; Tang, Er-Siang

2017-04-01

We investigate the coupled motion of cooperative atoms subjected to the Doppler dissipative force. The dipole-dipole interaction introduces mutual decay channel and splits the super-radiant and sub-radiant states. The Doppler force is thus modified due to the collective emission and coupled recoil. Such a cooperative effect is more evident when the inter-atom separation is less than or comparable to a wavelength. In an optical molasses, we find that, along the axis of two atoms, there presents an effective potential with mechanically stable and unstable regions alternatively as their separation increases. Taking the cooperative Lamb shift into account, we map out the stability diagram and investigate the blockade effect. We thank the support from MOST of Taiwan under Grant No. 105-2112-M-002-015-MY3 and National Taiwan University under Grant No. NTU-ERP-105R891401.

Global transport calculations with an equivalent barotropic system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salby, Murry L.; O'Sullivan, Donal; Garcia, Rolando R.; Tribbia, Joseph

1990-01-01

Transport properties of the two-dimensional equations governing equivalent barotropic motion are investigated on the sphere. This system has ingredients such as forcing, equivalent depth, and thermal dissipation explicitly represented, and takes into account compression effects associated with vertical motion along isentropic surfaces. Horizontal transport properties of this system are investigated under adiabatic and diabatic conditions for different forms of dissipation, and over a range of resolutions. It is shown that forcing represetative of time-mean and amplified conditions at 10 mb leads to the behavior typical of observations at this level. The displacement of the polar night vortex and its distortion into a comma shape are evident, as is irreversible mixing under sufficiently strong forcing amplitude. It is shown that thermal dissipation influences the behavior significantly by inhibiting the amplification of unstable eddies and thereby the horizontal stirring of air.

Dark energy as a fixed point of the Einstein Yang-Mills Higgs equations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rinaldi, Massimiliano, E-mail: massimiliano.rinaldi@unitn.it

We study the Einstein Yang-Mills Higgs equations in the SO(3) representation on a isotropic and homogeneous flat Universe, in the presence of radiation and matter fluids. We map the equations of motion into an autonomous dynamical system of first-order differential equations and we find the equilibrium points. We show that there is only one stable fixed point that corresponds to an accelerated expanding Universe in the future. In the past, instead, there is an unstable fixed point that implies a stiff-matter domination. In between, we find three other unstable fixed points, corresponding, in chronological order, to radiation domination, to mattermore » domination, and, finally, to a transition from decelerated expansion to accelerated expansion. We solve the system numerically and we confirm that there are smooth trajectories that correctly describe the evolution of the Universe, from a remote past dominated by radiation to a remote future dominated by dark energy, passing through a matter-dominated phase.« less

Dark energy as a fixed point of the Einstein Yang-Mills Higgs equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rinaldi, Massimiliano

2015-10-01

We study the Einstein Yang-Mills Higgs equations in the SO(3) representation on a isotropic and homogeneous flat Universe, in the presence of radiation and matter fluids. We map the equations of motion into an autonomous dynamical system of first-order differential equations and we find the equilibrium points. We show that there is only one stable fixed point that corresponds to an accelerated expanding Universe in the future. In the past, instead, there is an unstable fixed point that implies a stiff-matter domination. In between, we find three other unstable fixed points, corresponding, in chronological order, to radiation domination, to matter domination, and, finally, to a transition from decelerated expansion to accelerated expansion. We solve the system numerically and we confirm that there are smooth trajectories that correctly describe the evolution of the Universe, from a remote past dominated by radiation to a remote future dominated by dark energy, passing through a matter-dominated phase.

Exhaustive Classification of the Invariant Solutions for a Specific Nonlinear Model Describing Near Planar and Marginally Long-Wave Unstable Interfaces for Phase Transition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahangari, Fatemeh

2018-05-01

Problems of thermodynamic phase transition originate inherently in solidification, combustion and various other significant fields. If the transition region among two locally stable phases is adequately narrow, the dynamics can be modeled by an interface motion. This paper is devoted to exhaustive analysis of the invariant solutions for a modified Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation in two spatial and one temporal dimensions is presented. This nonlinear partial differential equation asymptotically characterizes near planar interfaces, which are marginally long-wave unstable. For this purpose, by applying the classical symmetry method for this model the classical symmetry operators are attained. Moreover, the structure of the Lie algebra of symmetries is discussed and the optimal system of subalgebras, which yields the preliminary classification of group invariant solutions is constructed. Mainly, the Lie invariants corresponding to the infinitesimal symmetry generators as well as associated similarity reduced equations are also pointed out. Furthermore, the nonclassical symmetries of this nonlinear PDE are also comprehensively investigated.

On the nonlinear stability of viscous modes within the Rayleigh problem on an infinite flat plate

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Webb, J. C.; Otto, S. R.; Lilley, G. M.

1994-01-01

The stability has been investigated of the unsteady flow past an infinite flat plate when it is moved impulsively from rest, in its own plane. For small times the instantaneous stability of the flow depends on the linearized equations of motion which reduce in this problem to the Orr-Sommerfeld equation. It is known that the flow for certain values of Reynolds number, frequency and wave number is unstable to Tollmien-Schlichting waves, as in the case of the Blasius boundary layer flow past a flat plate. With increase in time, the unstable waves only undergo growth for a finite time interval, and this growth rate is itself a function of time. The influence of finite amplitude effects is studied by solving the full Navier-Stokes equations. It is found that the stability characteristics are markedly changed both by the consideration of the time evolution of the flow, and by the introduction of finite amplitude effects.

The behavior of a liquid drop levitated and drastically flattened by an intense sound field

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, C. P.; Anilkumar, A. V.; Wang, Taylor G.

1992-01-01

The deformation and break-up are studied of a liquid drop in levitation through the radiation pressure. Using high-speed photography ripples are observed on the central membrane of the drop, atomization of the membrane by emission of satellite drops from its unstable ripples, and shattering of the drop after upward buckling like an umbrella, or after horizontal expansion like a sheet. These effects are captured on video. The ripples are theorized to be capillary waves generated by the Faraday instability excited by the sound vibration. Atomization occurs whenever the membrane becomes so thin that the vibration is sufficiently intense. The vibration leads to a destabilizing Bernoulli correction in the static pressure. Buckling occurs when an existent equilibrium is unstable to a radial (i.e., tangential) motion of the membrane because of the Bernoulli effect. Besides, the radiation stress at the rim of the drop is a suction stress which can make equilibrium impossible, leading to the horizontal expansion and the subsequent break-up.

Picosecond amorphization of SiO2 stishovite under tension

PubMed Central

Misawa, Masaaki; Ryuo, Emina; Yoshida, Kimiko; Kalia, Rajiv K.; Nakano, Aiichiro; Nishiyama, Norimasa; Shimojo, Fuyuki; Vashishta, Priya; Wakai, Fumihiro

2017-01-01

It is extremely difficult to realize two conflicting properties—high hardness and toughness—in one material. Nano-polycrystalline stishovite, recently synthesized from Earth-abundant silica glass, proved to be a super-hard, ultra-tough material, which could provide sustainable supply of high-performance ceramics. Our quantum molecular dynamics simulations show that stishovite amorphizes rapidly on the order of picosecond under tension in front of a crack tip. We find a displacive amorphization mechanism that only involves short-distance collective motions of atoms, thereby facilitating the rapid transformation. The two-step amorphization pathway involves an intermediate state akin to experimentally suggested “high-density glass polymorphs” before eventually transforming to normal glass. The rapid amorphization can catch up with, screen, and self-heal a fast-moving crack. This new concept of fast amorphization toughening likely operates in other pressure-synthesized hard solids. PMID:28508056

A Focused Fundamental Study of Predicting Materials Degradation & Fatigue. Volume 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1997-05-31

physical properties are: bulk modulus, shear strength, coefficient of friction, modulus of elasticity/ rigidity and Poisson’s ratio. Each of these physical...acting on a subsurface crack when abrasive motion occurs on the surface using linear elastic fracture mechanics theory. Both mechanisms involve a...The body of the scattering 5 cell was a 4-way Swagelok*(Crawford Fitting Co., Solon, OH) connector with a 1.5 mm hole drilled in the top for

Seismic moment tensor for anisotropic media: implication for Non-double-couple earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, X.; Chen, X.; Chen, Y.; Cai, M.

2008-12-01

It is often found that the inversion results of seismic moment tensor from real seismic recorded data show the trace of seismic moment tensor M is not zero, a phenomenon called non-double-couple earthquake sources mechanism. Recently we have derived the analytical expressions of M in transversely isotropic media with the titled axis of symmetry and the results shows even only pure shear-motion of fault can lead to the implosive components determined by several combined anisotropic elastic constants. Many non-double-couple earthquakes from observations often appear in volcanic and geothermal areas (Julian, 1998), where there exist a mount of stress-aligned fluid-saturated parallel vertical micro-cracks identical to transversely isotropic media (Crampin, 2008), this stress-aligned crack will modify the seismic moment tensor. In another word, non-double-couple earthquakes don't mean to have a seismic failure movement perpendicular to the fault plane, while traditional research of seismic moment tensor focus on the case of isotropy, which cannot provide correct interpretation of seismic source mechanism. Reference: Julian, B.R., Miller, A.D. and Foulger, G.R., 1998. Non-double-couple earthquakes,1. Theory, Rev. Geophys., 36, 525¨C549. Crampin,S., Peacock,S., 2008, A review of the current understanding of seismic shear-wave splitting in the Earth's crust and common fallacies in interpretation, wave motion, 45,675-722

"Knuckle Cracking": Can Blinded Observers Detect Changes with Physical Examination and Sonography?

PubMed

Boutin, Robert D; Netto, Anuj P; Nakamura, David; Bateni, Cyrus; Szabo, Robert M; Cronan, Michael; Foster, Brent; Barfield, William R; Seibert, J Anthony; Chaudhari, Abhijit J

2017-04-01

Voluntary knuckle cracking is a common habit, with a reported prevalence of 25% to 45%. Habitual knuckle cracking also is a frequent source of questions for physicians, and the largest study to date reported an association with functional hand impairments. (1) When compared with subjects who are not habitual knuckle crackers, do habitual knuckle crackers have greater QuickDASH scores, swelling, weakness, joint laxity, or ROM? (2) In subjects who crack their knuckles, does cracking immediately increase ROM? (3) What are the characteristic sonographic findings in joints that crack? A prospective, institutional review board-approved study was performed on 400 metacarpophalangeal joints (MPJs) in 40 asymptomatic adult subjects. Of those, 30 subjects had a history of habitual knuckle cracking (defined as daily voluntary popping of MPJs). Clinical history provided by all subjects included a standardized QuickDASH questionnaire. Physical examination was performed by two orthopaedic surgeons (blinded to subjects' knuckle-cracking history and sonographic outcomes). The physical examination included evaluation for swelling, grip strength, and ROM before and after attempted knuckle cracking. Sonographic examination was conducted by one sonographer, with static and real-time cine images recorded before, during, and after MPJ distraction was performed by the subjects. Two musculoskeletal radiologists (blinded to subjects' knuckle-cracking history) interpreted the images for a definite hyperechoic focus during and after MPJ distraction; this was compared against the reference standard of an audible "crack" during joint distraction. Comparing subjects with knuckle cracking with those who did not crack their knuckles, there was no differences in QuickDASH scores (knuckle crackers, 3.7 ± 5.2; nonknuckle crackers, 3.2 ± 6.3; mean difference, 0.6; 95% CI, -3.5 to 4.6; p = 0.786), laxity (knuckle crackers, 2.0 ± 1.8; nonknuckle crackers, 0.3 ± 0.7; mean difference, 1.7; 95% CI, 0.5-2.9; p = 0.191), and grip strength (preultrasound, right hand, p = 0.499, left hand p = 0.575; postultrasound, right hand p = 0.777, left hand p = 0.424); ROM comparisons between subjects with a history of habitual knuckle cracking versus subjects without such a history only yielded increased ROM in joints that cracked during manipulation (knuckle cracking, 143.8° ± 26.5°; nonknuckle cracking, 134.9° ± 28.6°; mean difference, 9.0°; 95% CI, 2.9°-15.1°; p = 0.004). Swelling was not observed in any subjects, including when comparing MPJs before versus after distraction maneuvers that resulted in audible cracks. Immediately after a documented crack, there were greater ranges of motion with active flexion (preultrasound, 85.7° ± 12.4°; postultrasound, 88.6° ± 11.6°; mean difference, -2.9°; 95% CI, -5.1° to -0.8°; p = 0.009), passive flexion (preultrasound, 96.1° ± 12.4°; postultrasound, 100.3° ± 10.4°; mean difference, -4.3°; 95% CI, -6.2° to -2.3°; p < 0.001), passive extension (preultrasound, 41.8° ± 18.1°; postultrasound, 45.2° ± 17.6°; mean difference, -3.5°; 95% CI, -6.9° to -0.1°; p = 0.046), and passive total ROM (preultrasound, 137.8° ± 24.8°; postultrasound, 145.6° ± 23.1°; mean difference, -7.7°; 95% CI, -11.7° to -3.8°; p < 0.001). The characteristic sonographic finding observed during cracking events is an echogenic focus that appears de novo dynamically in the joint during distraction. We found no evidence of immediate adverse physical examination findings after knuckle cracking. However, we did find a small increase in ROM among joints that cracked compared with those that did not. Future studies should examine if there are any long-term beneficial and adverse clinical outcomes associated with habitual knuckle cracking. Level I, prognostic study.

Two Sources of Nonisotropic Radiation From Underground Explosions in Granite

DOE PAGES

Vorobiev, O. Yu.

2017-10-23

Significant tangential ground motion observed during underground explosions makes it difficult to distinguish them from natural earthquakes. Such motion can be generated by the source geometry and emplacement conditions, by the heterogeneous nature of the rock mass (mechanical properties may vary in space due to the presence of cracks, joints, faults, and various geologic layers) and also by the nonuniform in situ stress state. The last mechanism is increasingly important with depth when the difference in main principal stresses becomes significant. This paper is focused on the role of material strength of the rock mass in generation of nonradial motionmore » during explosions in prestressed media. Numerical modeling of underground chemical explosions in granite at various depths has been conducted to compare two possible mechanisms of shear wave generation. The first, caused by rock mass anisotropy, is important at shallow depth. The second is related to elastic-plastic relaxation around the cavity created by the explosion. As a result, tangential motions for these two mechanisms have different signatures.« less

Linear motion feed through with thin wall rubber sealing element

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikhailov, V. P.; Deulin, E. A.

2017-07-01

The patented linear motion feedthrough is based on elastic thin rubber walls usage being reinforced with analeptic string fixed in the middle part of the walls. The pneumatic or hydro actuators create linear movement of stock. The length of this movement is two times more the rubber wall length. This flexible wall is a sealing element of feedthrough. The main advantage of device is negligible resistance force that is less then mentioned one in sealing bellows that leads to positioning error decreasing. Nevertheless, the thin wall rubber sealing element (TRE) of the feedthrough is the main unreliable element that was the reason of this element longevity research. The theory and experimental results help to create equation for TRE longevity calculation under vacuum or extra high pressure difference action. The equation was used for TRE longevity determination for hydraulic or vacuum equipment realization also as it helps for gas flow being leaking through the cracks in thin walls of rubber sealing element of linear motion feedthrough calculation.

Two Sources of Nonisotropic Radiation From Underground Explosions in Granite

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vorobiev, O. Yu.

Significant tangential ground motion observed during underground explosions makes it difficult to distinguish them from natural earthquakes. Such motion can be generated by the source geometry and emplacement conditions, by the heterogeneous nature of the rock mass (mechanical properties may vary in space due to the presence of cracks, joints, faults, and various geologic layers) and also by the nonuniform in situ stress state. The last mechanism is increasingly important with depth when the difference in main principal stresses becomes significant. This paper is focused on the role of material strength of the rock mass in generation of nonradial motionmore » during explosions in prestressed media. Numerical modeling of underground chemical explosions in granite at various depths has been conducted to compare two possible mechanisms of shear wave generation. The first, caused by rock mass anisotropy, is important at shallow depth. The second is related to elastic-plastic relaxation around the cavity created by the explosion. As a result, tangential motions for these two mechanisms have different signatures.« less

Models of lithosphere and asthenosphere anisotropic structure of the Yellowstone hot spot from shear wave splitting

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waite, Gregory P.; Schutt, D.L.; Smith, Robert B.

2005-01-01

Teleseismic shear wave splitting measured at 56 continuous and temporary seismographs deployed in a 500 km by 600 km area around the Yellowstone hot spot indicates that fast anisotropy in the mantle is parallel to the direction of plate motion under most of the array. The average split time from all stations of 0.9 s is typical of continental stations. There is little evidence for plume-induced radial strain, suggesting that any contribution of gravitationally spreading plume material is undetectably small with respect to the plate motion velocity. Two stations within Yellowstone have splitting measurements indicating the apparent fast anisotropy direction (ϕ) is nearly perpendicular to plate motion. These stations are ∼30 km from stations with ϕ parallel to plate motion. The 70° rotation over 30 km suggests a shallow source of anisotropy; however, split times for these stations are more than 2 s. We suggest melt-filled, stress-oriented cracks in the lithosphere are responsible for the anomalous ϕ orientations within Yellowstone. Stations southeast of Yellowstone have measurements of ϕ oriented NNW to WNW at high angles to the plate motion direction. The Archean lithosphere beneath these stations may have significant anisotropy capable of producing the observed splitting.

Altered Tibiofemoral Joint Contact Mechanics and Kinematics in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis and Episodic Complaints of Joint Instability

PubMed Central

Farrokhi, Shawn; Voycheck, Carrie A.; Klatt, Brian A.; Gustafson, Jonathan A.; Tashman, Scott; Fitzgerald, G. Kelley

2014-01-01

Background To evaluate knee joint contact mechanics and kinematics during the loading response phase of downhill gait in knee osteoarthritis patients with self-reported instability. Methods Forty-three subjects, 11 with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis and self-reported instability (unstable), 7 with medial compartment knee osteoarthritis but no reports of instability (stable), and 25 without knee osteoarthritis or instability (control) underwent Dynamic Stereo X-ray analysis during a downhill gait task on a treadmill. Findings The medial compartment contact point excursions were longer in the unstable group compared to the stable (p=0.046) and the control groups (p=0.016). The peak medial compartment contact point velocity was also greater for the unstable group compared to the stable (p=0.047) and control groups (p=0.022). Additionally, the unstable group demonstrated a coupled movement pattern of knee extension and external rotation after heel contact which was different than the coupled motion of knee flexion and internal rotation demonstrated by stable and control groups. Interpretation Our findings suggest that knee joint contact mechanics and kinematics are altered during the loading response phase of downhill gait in knee osteoarthritis patients with self-reported instability. The observed longer medial compartment contact point excursions and higher velocities represent objective signs of mechanical instability that may place the arthritic knee joint at increased risk for disease progression. Further research is indicated to explore the clinical relevance of altered contact mechanics and kinematics during other common daily activities and to assess the efficacy of rehabilitation programs to improve altered joint biomechanics in knee osteoarthritis patients with self-reported instability. PMID:24856791

Wearable technology reveals gait compensations, unstable walking patterns and fatigue in people with Multiple Sclerosis.

PubMed

Psarakis, Michael; Greene, David; Cole, Michael H; Lord, Stephen R; Hoang, Phu; Brodie, Matthew A D

2018-04-27

People with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) often experience a decline in gait performance, which can compromise their independence and increase falls. Ankle joint contractures in PwMS are common and often result in compensatory gait patterns to accommodate reduced ankle range of motion (ROM). Using advances in wearable technology, the aim of this study was to quantify head and pelvis movement patterns that occur in PwMS with disability and determine how these secondary gait compensations impact on gait stability. Twelve healthy participants and twelve PwMS participated in the study. Head and pelvis movements were measured using two tri-axial accelerometers. Measures of gait compensation, mobility, variability, asymmetry, stability and fatigue were assessed during a six-minute walking test. Compared to healthy controls, PwMS had greater vertical asymmetry in their head and pelvic movements (Cohen's d=1.85 & 1.60). Lower harmonic ratios indicated that PwMS were more unstable than controls (Cohen's d=-1.61 to -3.06), even after adjusting for their slower walking speeds. In the PwMS, increased compensatory movements were correlated with reduced ankle active ROM (r=-0.71), higher disability (EDSS) scores (r=0.58), unstable gait (r=-0.76), reduced mobility (r=-0.76) and increased variability (r=0.83). Wearable device technology provides an efficient and reliable way to screen for excessive compensatory movements often present in PwMS and provides clinically-important information that impacts on mobility, stride time variability and gait stability. This information may help clinicians identify PwMS at high risk of falling and develop better rehabilitation interventions that, in addition to improving mobility, may help target the underlying causes of unstable gait. © 2018 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.

The surprising dynamics of a chain on a pulley: lift off and snapping

PubMed Central

Audoly, Basile

2016-01-01

The motion of weights attached to a chain or string moving on a frictionless pulley is a classic problem of introductory physics used to understand the relationship between force and acceleration. Here, we consider the dynamics of the chain when one of the weights is removed and, thus, one end is pulled with constant acceleration. This simple change has dramatic consequences for the ensuing motion: at a finite time, the chain ‘lifts off’ from the pulley, and the free end subsequently accelerates faster than the end that is pulled. Eventually, the chain undergoes a dramatic reversal of curvature reminiscent of the crack or snap, of a whip. We combine experiments, numerical simulations and theoretical arguments to explain key aspects of this dynamical problem. PMID:27436987

The surprising dynamics of a chain on a pulley: lift off and snapping.

PubMed

Brun, P-T; Audoly, Basile; Goriely, Alain; Vella, Dominic

2016-06-01

The motion of weights attached to a chain or string moving on a frictionless pulley is a classic problem of introductory physics used to understand the relationship between force and acceleration. Here, we consider the dynamics of the chain when one of the weights is removed and, thus, one end is pulled with constant acceleration. This simple change has dramatic consequences for the ensuing motion: at a finite time, the chain 'lifts off' from the pulley, and the free end subsequently accelerates faster than the end that is pulled. Eventually, the chain undergoes a dramatic reversal of curvature reminiscent of the crack or snap, of a whip. We combine experiments, numerical simulations and theoretical arguments to explain key aspects of this dynamical problem.

Accurate motion parameter estimation for colonoscopy tracking using a regression method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jianfei; Subramanian, Kalpathi R.; Yoo, Terry S.

2010-03-01

Co-located optical and virtual colonoscopy images have the potential to provide important clinical information during routine colonoscopy procedures. In our earlier work, we presented an optical flow based algorithm to compute egomotion from live colonoscopy video, permitting navigation and visualization of the corresponding patient anatomy. In the original algorithm, motion parameters were estimated using the traditional Least Sum of squares(LS) procedure which can be unstable in the context of optical flow vectors with large errors. In the improved algorithm, we use the Least Median of Squares (LMS) method, a robust regression method for motion parameter estimation. Using the LMS method, we iteratively analyze and converge toward the main distribution of the flow vectors, while disregarding outliers. We show through three experiments the improvement in tracking results obtained using the LMS method, in comparison to the LS estimator. The first experiment demonstrates better spatial accuracy in positioning the virtual camera in the sigmoid colon. The second and third experiments demonstrate the robustness of this estimator, resulting in longer tracked sequences: from 300 to 1310 in the ascending colon, and 410 to 1316 in the transverse colon.

Testing a satellite automatic nutation control system. [on synchronous meteorological satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hrasiar, J. A.

1974-01-01

Testing of a particular nutation control system for the synchronous meteorological satellite (SMS) is described. The test method and principles are applicable to nutation angle control for other satellites with similar requirements. During its ascent to synchronous orbit, a spacecraft like the SMS spins about its minimum-moment-of-inertia axis. An uncontrolled spacecraft in this state is unstable because torques due to fuel motion increase the nutation angle. However, the SMS is equipped with an automatic nutation control (ANC) system which will keep the nutation angle close to zero. Because correct operation of this system is critical to mission success, it was tested on an air-bearing table. The ANC system was mounted on the three-axis air-bearing table which was scaled to the SMS and equipped with appropriate sensors and thrusters. The table was spun up in an altitude chamber and nutation induced so that table motion simulated spacecraft motion. The ANC system was used to reduce the nutation angle. This dynamic test of the ANC system met all its objectives and provided confidence that the ANC system will control the SMS nutation angle.

Helmet and shoulder pad removal in football players with unstable cervical spine injuries.

PubMed

Dahl, Michael C; Ananthakrishnan, Dheera; Nicandri, Gregg; Chapman, Jens R; Ching, Randal P

2009-05-01

Football, one of the country's most popular team sports, is associated with the largest overall number of sports-related, catastrophic, cervical spine injuries in the United States (Mueller, 2007). Patient handling can be hindered by the protective sports equipment worn by the athlete. Improper stabilization of these patients can exacerbate neurologic injury. Because of the lack of consensus on the best method for equipment removal, a study was performed comparing three techniques: full body levitation, upper torso tilt, and log roll. These techniques were performed on an intact and lesioned cervical spine cadaveric model simulating conditions in the emergency department. The levitation technique was found to produce motion in the anterior and right lateral directions. The tilt technique resulted in motions in the posterior left lateral directions, and the log roll technique generated motions in the right lateral direction and had the largest amount of increased instability when comparing the intact and lesioned specimen. These findings suggest that each method of equipment removal displays unique weaknesses that the practitioner should take into account, possibly on a patient-by-patient basis.

Unconstrained tripolar hip implants: effect on hip stability.

PubMed

Guyen, Olivier; Chen, Qing Shan; Bejui-Hugues, Jacques; Berry, Daniel J; An, Kai-Nan

2007-02-01

Tripolar implants were developed to treat unstable total hip arthroplasties. However, there is limited confirmation that they achieve this purpose despite their increasing use. Because they have a larger effective head size, these implants are expected to increase range of motion to impingement and improve stability in situations at risk for impingement compared with conventional implants. We assessed the range of motion to impingement using a tripolar implant mounted to an automated hip simulator using 22.2-mm and 28-mm femoral head sizes. The 22 and 28-mm tripolar implants provided increases of 30.5 degrees in flexion, 15.4 degrees in adduction, and 22.4 degrees in external rotation compared with the conventional 22.2-mm femoral head diameter implant. At the critical position of 90 degrees hip flexion, there was an increase of 45.2 degrees in internal rotation. At 0 degrees and 30 degrees external rotation, extension increases were 18.8 degrees and 7.8 degrees, respectively. Bony impingement was the limiting factor. Tripolar implants increased the arc of motion before impingement in positions at risk for dislocation and are expected to provide greater stability.

Multi-layer accretion disks around black holes and formation of a hot ion-torus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hujeirat, A.; Camenzind, M.

2000-08-01

We present the first 2D steady-state numerical radiative hydrodynamical calculations showing the formation of a low-density hot torus in the very inner region of accretion disks around a black hole. The inner part of the disk is found to be thermally unstable when Bremsstrahlung is the dominant cooling mechanism. Within the parameter regime used and in the absence of magnetic fields, the torus-plasma is highly time-dependent with supersonic oscillating motion with respect to the electron temperature. When the soft photons from the disk comptonize the electrons efficiently, the ion-pressure supported torus shrinks in volume, but decelerates further the inward motion into the hole. We speculate that magnetic fields would stabilize the tori by lowering its energy package through initiating jets and/or outflows. In the outer region, we find that the scale height of the angular velocity HΩ largely exceeds the scale height of the density Hρ. This yields a multi-layer flow-structure in the vertical direction which slows the inwards motion into the BH significantly, enhancing further the formation of the hot torus.

Pattern formation, social forces, and diffusion instability in games with success-driven motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Helbing, Dirk

2009-02-01

A local agglomeration of cooperators can support the survival or spreading of cooperation, even when cooperation is predicted to die out according to the replicator equation, which is often used in evolutionary game theory to study the spreading and disappearance of strategies. In this paper, it is shown that success-driven motion can trigger such local agglomeration and may, therefore, be used to supplement other mechanisms supporting cooperation, like reputation or punishment. Success-driven motion is formulated here as a function of the game-theoretical payoffs. It can change the outcome and dynamics of spatial games dramatically, in particular as it causes attractive or repulsive interaction forces. These forces act when the spatial distributions of strategies are inhomogeneous. However, even when starting with homogeneous initial conditions, small perturbations can trigger large inhomogeneities by a pattern-formation instability, when certain conditions are fulfilled. Here, these instability conditions are studied for the prisoner’s dilemma and the snowdrift game. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that asymmetrical diffusion can drive social, economic, and biological systems into the unstable regime, if these would be stable without diffusion.

Study of an orbiting tethered dumbbell system having positive orbital energy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnold, David A.

1988-01-01

For very long tethered systems the sum of the kinetic and potential energy can be positive. The system remains in a circular orbit as long as the masses remain vertically aligned. The system is unstable without constant control of the alignment. If the upper mass rotates forward in the direction of the orbital motion, the system escapes out of orbit. If the upper mass rotates backward, the system falls out of orbit and the lower mass impacts the body around which the system is orbiting.

Dynamics of a Sonoluminescing Bubble in Sulfuric Acid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hopkins, Stephen D.; Putterman, Seth J.; Kappus, Brian A.; Suslick, Kenneth S.; Camara, Carlos G.

2005-12-01

The spectral shape and observed sonoluminescence emission from Xe bubbles in concentrated sulfuric acid is consistent only with blackbody emission from a spherical surface that fills the bubble. The interior of the observed 7000 K blackbody must be at least 4 times hotter than the emitting surface in order that the equilibrium light-matter interaction length be smaller than the radius. Bright emission is correlated with long emission times (˜10ns), sharp thresholds, unstable translational motion, and implosions that are sufficiently weak that contributions from the van der Waals hard core are small.

Dynamics of a sonoluminescing bubble in sulfuric acid.

PubMed

Hopkins, Stephen D; Putterman, Seth J; Kappus, Brian A; Suslick, Kenneth S; Camara, Carlos G

2005-12-16

The spectral shape and observed sonoluminescence emission from Xe bubbles in concentrated sulfuric acid is consistent only with blackbody emission from a spherical surface that fills the bubble. The interior of the observed 7000 K blackbody must be at least 4 times hotter than the emitting surface in order that the equilibrium light-matter interaction length be smaller than the radius. Bright emission is correlated with long emission times (approximately 10 ns), sharp thresholds, unstable translational motion, and implosions that are sufficiently weak that contributions from the van der Waals hard core are small.

Intrinsic problems of the gravitational baryogenesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arbuzova, E. V.; Dolgov, A. D.

2017-06-01

Modification of gravity due to the curvature dependent term in the gravitational baryogenesis scenario is considered. It is shown that this term leads to the fourth order differential equation of motion for the curvature scalar instead of the algebraic one of General Relativity (GR). The fourth order gravitational equations are generically unstable with respect to small perturbations. Non-linear in curvature terms may stabilize the solution but the magnitude of the stabilized curvature scalar would be much larger than that dictated by GR, so the standard cosmology would be strongly distorted.

On the computational aspects of comminution in discrete element method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaudry, Mohsin Ali; Wriggers, Peter

2018-04-01

In this paper, computational aspects of crushing/comminution of granular materials are addressed. For crushing, maximum tensile stress-based criterion is used. Crushing model in discrete element method (DEM) is prone to problems of mass conservation and reduction in critical time step. The first problem is addressed by using an iterative scheme which, depending on geometric voids, recovers mass of a particle. In addition, a global-local framework for DEM problem is proposed which tends to alleviate the local unstable motion of particles and increases the computational efficiency.

Non-Linear Dynamics and Chaotic Motions in Feedback Controlled Elastic System

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-01

b &IA m t K] t -NA00 202) 767- NM C DD Form 1473. JUN 86 Previous editions areobsolete S ~is PikkjE AFOSR 84-0051 Final Report P.Holmes. Research ...University, England 5/23/88 CNLS, Los Alamos National Lab, N4 8/23/88 R.Rand. Research Activities January 1. 1988 - September 31, 1988 1. Averaging...unstable if an unbounded solution exists. Although numerous papers have been written since the mid-1960’s on this problem, we have gone far further in

A note on libration point orbits, temporary capture and low-energy transfers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fantino, E.; Gómez, G.; Masdemont, J. J.; Ren, Y.

2010-11-01

In the circular restricted three-body problem (CR3BP) the weak stability boundary (WSB) is defined as a boundary set in the phase space between stable and unstable motion relative to the second primary. At a given energy level, the boundaries of such region are provided by the stable manifolds of the central objects of the L1 and L2 libration points, i.e., the two planar Lyapunov orbits. Besides, the unstable manifolds of libration point orbits (LPOs) around L1 and L2 have been identified as responsible for the weak or temporary capture around the second primary of the system. These two issues suggest the existence of natural dynamical channels between the Earth's vicinity and the Sun-Earth libration points L1 and L2. Furthermore, it has been shown that the Sun-Earth L2 central unstable manifolds can be linked, through an heteroclinic connection, to the central stable manifolds of the L2 point in the Earth-Moon three-body problem. This concept has been applied to the design of low energy transfers (LETs) from the Earth to the Moon. In this contribution we consider all the above three issues, i.e., weak stability boundaries, temporary capture and low energy transfers, and we discuss the role played by the invariant manifolds of LPOs in each of them. The study is made in the planar approximation.

Stream Bank Stability in Eastern Nebraska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Soenksen, Phillip J.; Turner, Mary J.; Dietsch, Benjamin J.; Simon, Andrew

2003-01-01

Dredged and straightened channels in eastern Nebraska have experienced degradation leading to channel widening by bank failure. Degradation has progressed headward and affected the drainage systems upstream from the modified reaches. This report describes a study that was undertaken to analyze bank stability at selected sites in eastern Nebraska and develop a simplified method for estimating the stability of banks at future study sites. Bank cross sections along straight reaches of channel and geotechnical data were collected at approximately 150 sites in 26 counties of eastern Nebraska. The sites were categorized into three groups based on mapped soil permeability. With increasing permeability of the soil groups, the median cohesion values decreased and the median friction angles increased. Three analytical methods were used to determine if banks were stable (should not fail even when saturated), at risk (should not fail unless saturated), or unstable (should have already failed). The Culmann and Agricultural Research Service methods were based on the Coulomb equation and planar failure; an indirect method was developed that was based on Bishop's simplified method of slices and rotational failure. The maximum angle from horizontal at which the bank would be stable for the given soil and bank height conditions also was computed with the indirect method. Because of few soil shear-strength data, all analyses were based on the assumption of homogeneous banks, which was later shown to be atypical, at least for some banks. Using the Culmann method and assuming no soil tension cracks, 67 percent of all 908 bank sections were identified as stable, 32 percent were at risk, and 1 percent were unstable; when tension cracks were assumed, the results changed to 58 percent stable, 40 percent at risk, and 1 percent unstable. Using the Agricultural Research Service method, 67 percent of all bank sections were identified as stable and 33 percent were at risk. Using the indirect method, 62 percent of all bank sections were identified as stable and 31 percent were at risk; 3 percent were unstable, and 3 percent were outside of the range of the tables developed for the method. For each of the methods that were used, the largest percentage of stable banks and the smallest percentage of at risk banks was for the soil group with the lowest soil permeability and highest median cohesion values. A comparison of the expected stable bank angles for saturated conditions and the surveyed bank angles indicated that many of the surveyed bank angles were considerably less than the maximum expected stable bank angles despite the banks being classified as at risk or unstable. For severely degraded channels along straight reaches this was not expected. It was expected that they would have angles close to the maximum stable angle as they should have been failing from an oversteepened condition. Several explanations are possible. The channel reaches of some study sites have not yet been affected to a significant degree by degradation; study sites were selected throughout individual basins and severe degradation has not yet extended to some sites along upper reaches; and some reaches have experienced aggradation as degradation progresses upstream. Another possibility is that some bank sections have been affected by lateral migration processes, which typically result in shallow bank angles on the inside bend of the channel. Another possibility is that the maximum expected stable bank angles are too steep. The stability methods used were well established and in essential agreement with each other, and there was no reason to question the geometry data. This left non-representative soil data as a probable reason for computed stable bank angles that, at least in some cases, are overly steep. Based on an examination of the cohesion data, to which the stable bank-angle calculations were most sensitive, both vertical and horizontal variability in soil properti

Tension fatigue of glass/epoxy and graphite/epoxy tapered laminates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murri, Gretchen B.; Obrien, T. Kevin; Salpekar, Satish A.

1990-01-01

Symmetric tapered laminates with internally dropped plies were tested with two different layups and two materials, S2/SP250 glass/epoxy and IM6/1827I graphite/epoxy. The specimens were loaded in cyclic tension until they delaminated unstably. Each combination of material and layup had a unique failure mode. Calculated values of strain energy release rate, G, from a finite element analysis model of delamination along the taper, and for delamination from a matrix ply crack, were used with mode I fatigue characterization data from tests of the tested materials to calculate expected delamination onset loads. Calculated values were compared to the experimental results. The comparison showed that when the calculated G was chosen according to the observed delamination failures, the agreement between the calculated and measured delamination onset loads was reasonable for each combination of layup and material.

Thermal regimes in bedrock and open fractures in the Nordnes rockslide, Norway

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hvidtfeldt Christiansen, Hanne; Harald Blikra, Lars

2010-05-01

The Nordnes rockslide site is located in the arctic part of the periglacial mountain landscape of Northern Norway at 69°30'N. It consists in the upper part of 1-10 m wide and 1-10 m deep open fractures. Extensive displacements measurements using GPS surveys, crackmeters, tiltmeter and lasers establish the intermunicipality monitoring programme, which shows ongoing deformation of the rockslide. In the rather special topographical setting of the open fractures we have during the International Polar Year 2007 to 2009 recorded the thermal regime of the upper part of the bedrock and of the air in the cracks for attempting to determine whether the recorded deformation can be geomorphologically controlled by bedrock surface expansion and contraction and/or by seasonal freezing or even by permafrost, or if only normal gravitational processes control the observed displacements. The upper 40 cm bedrock thermal conditions have been investigated in different exposures to identify the seasonal freezing depth and length, for determination of the influence of potential ice segregation processes causing weathering of the bedrock surfaces. The data show generally that that the bedrock surface is in the -3 to -8C freezing window for 3 to 6 months. Likewise 250 cm deep bedrock thermal monitoring have been carried out in three boreholes during one year at 900 m, 800 m and 625 m asl. extending over the area from the upper part of the unstable area and into the stable area above, for determination of the regional permafrost zone. These results in combination with thermal evidence from other deeper boreholes from the same setting in the same region show that seasonal freezing extends 5-10 m down, and that a potential active layer also is in the order of 5-10 m deep. The air temperatures in the cracks show significant cooling during winter, when the cracks have a thick snow cover, thus demonstrating the potential existence of permafrost in deeper part of the cracks and in the ground just around these. Automatic photography has been used for the last 4 years to study the seasonal snow cover duration and thickness in the open cracks. This shows that a thicker snow cover only develops in mid winter, with maximum amounts of snow in March and April, but also that not all snow melts during summer in the deeper parts of the open cracks. In addition we have found small pockets of ice in closed spaces of the bottom parts of the open crack, indicating the presence of permafrost. The combination of thermal data and the special seasonal variation in the rockslide deformations indicate that most likely refreezing of snow meltwater goes on in the open cracks for a considerable period from late summer, autumn and into the early winter, when the recorded rockslide deformation is largest. In late winter no significant deformation is recorded when the ground is constantly frozen, but there is a significant potential for ice segregation to occur where moisture is present in the rock.

Temporal evolution of crack propagation propensity in snow in relation to slab and weak layer properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schweizer, Jürg; Reuter, Benjamin; van Herwijnen, Alec; Richter, Bettina; Gaume, Johan

2016-11-01

If a weak snow layer below a cohesive slab is present in the snow cover, unstable snow conditions can prevail for days or even weeks. We monitored the temporal evolution of a weak layer of faceted crystals as well as the overlaying slab layers at the location of an automatic weather station in the Steintälli field site above Davos (Eastern Swiss Alps). We focussed on the crack propagation propensity and performed propagation saw tests (PSTs) on 7 sampling days during a 2-month period from early January to early March 2015. Based on video images taken during the tests we determined the mechanical properties of the slab and the weak layer and compared them to the results derived from concurrently performed measurements of penetration resistance using the snow micro-penetrometer (SMP). The critical cut length, observed in PSTs, increased overall during the measurement period. The increase was not steady and the lowest values of critical cut length were observed around the middle of the measurement period. The relevant mechanical properties, the slab effective elastic modulus and the weak layer specific fracture, overall increased as well. However, the changes with time differed, suggesting that the critical cut length cannot be assessed by simply monitoring a single mechanical property such as slab load, slab modulus or weak layer specific fracture energy. Instead, crack propagation propensity is the result of a complex interplay between the mechanical properties of the slab and the weak layer. We then compared our field observations to newly developed metrics of snow instability related to either failure initiation or crack propagation propensity. The metrics were either derived from the SMP signal or calculated from simulated snow stratigraphy (SNOWPACK). They partially reproduced the observed temporal evolution of critical cut length and instability test scores. Whereas our unique dataset of quantitative measures of snow instability provides new insights into the complex slab-weak layer interaction, it also showed some deficiencies of the modelled metrics of instability - calling for an improved representation of the mechanical properties.

Seismic Stability Evaluation of Ririe Dam and Reservoir Project. Report 2. Stability Calculations, Analysis, and Evaluations. Volume 1. Main Text

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-09-01

Army (i #Awleable) Engineer istrict. Walls Welli NPW-EN- GI _____________________ Bc DRSSW4~Sse.adZPa 10 SOURCE OF FUNDING NUMBERS Bldg. 602, City...cracks induced by ground motions. Z. Overtopping of dam due to seiches in reservoir. h. Overtopping of dam due to slides or rockfalls into reservoir. j...overtopping due to slides or rockfalls is not likely. Three potential modes of failure remain from the original list: (c) slope failures induced by

Shock Tunnel Tests of Arched Wall Panels

DTIC Science & Technology

1974-07-01

NCNOR « LOT S/W ETC lOLT ANCMO« NOO IEE DETAIL* / tELOW , , METAL TIE* / I*" 0. C. VERT -HAiONRT «ALL...same as shown in Table 2-1. 2-6 m^ Table 2-1 SPACING OF WALL TIES i Moiimuffl Dittonc« Moiimum Spocing ef No 4 Gogt Wall Typ. I K«twHn Lot ...sides free to move), the flexural cracking occurs at the top, botton \\ and center, and the resistance to motion, induced by ’ wedging"or geometric

Motion of Optically Heated Spheres at the Water-Air Interface.

PubMed

Girot, A; Danné, N; Würger, A; Bickel, T; Ren, F; Loudet, J C; Pouligny, B

2016-03-22

A micrometer-sized spherical particle classically equilibrates at the water-air interface in partial wetting configuration, causing about no deformation to the interface. In condition of thermal equilibrium, the particle just undergoes faint Brownian motion, well visible under a microscope. We report experimental observations when the particle is made of a light-absorbing material and is heated up by a vertical laser beam. We show that, at small laser power, the particle is trapped in on-axis configuration, similarly to 2-dimensional trapping of a transparent sphere by optical forces. Conversely, on-axis trapping becomes unstable at higher power. The particle escapes off the laser axis and starts orbiting around the axis. We show that the laser-heated particle behaves as a microswimmer with velocities on the order of several 100 μm/s with just a few milliwatts of laser power.

Convective overshoot at the solar tachocline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Benjamin; Oishi, Jeffrey S.; Anders, Evan H.; Lecoanet, Daniel; Burns, Keaton; Vasil, Geoffrey M.

2017-08-01

At the base of the solar convection zone lies the solar tachocline. This internal interface is where motions from the unstable convection zone above overshoot and penetrate downward into the stiffly stable radiative zone below, driving gravity waves, mixing, and possibly pumping and storing magnetic fields. Here we study the dynamics of convective overshoot across very stiff interfaces with some properties similar to the internal boundary layer within the Sun. We use the Dedalus pseudospectral framework and study fully compressible dynamics at moderate to high Peclet number and low Mach number, probing a regime where turbulent transport is important, and where the compressible dynamics are similar to those of convective motions in the deep solar interior. We find that the depth of convective overshoot is well described by a simple buoyancy equilibration model, and we consider implications for dynamics at the solar tachocline and for the storage of magnetic fields there by overshooting convection.

The nature of the sunspot phenomenon. III - Energy consumption and energy transport. IV - The intrinsic instability of the magnetic configuration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, E. N.

1975-01-01

The basic relation is described between conversion of thermal energy into convective fluid motion and convective transport of thermal energy, and the equilibrium configuration of a sunspot's magnetic field is shown to be unstable to the hydromagnetic exchange instability. It is determined that heat transport necessarily accompanies convective driving of fluid motion and that the formation of cool sunspots requires convection extending coherently over several scale heights, a distance of at least 500 km. Several theoretical possibilities for sunspot stabilization are reviewed, and it is suggested that a suitable redistribution of cooling in the umbra may be the stabilization mechanism. It is believed that if cooling extends to a great depth in an elongated portion of a sunspot, the magnetic pressure on the boundary will be reduced, tending to reduce the elongation.

Cleavage fracture in high strength low alloy weld metal

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bose, W.W.; Bowen, P.; Strangwood, M.

1996-12-31

The present investigation gives an evaluation of the effect of microstructure on the cleavage fracture process of High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) multipass weld metals. With additions of alloying elements, such as Ti, Ni, Mo and Cr, the microstructure of C-Mn weld metal changes from the classical composition, i.e., allotriomorphic ferrite with acicular ferrite and Widmanstaetten ferrite, to bainite and low carbon martensite. Although the physical metallurgy of some HSLA weld metals has been studied before, more work is necessary to correlate the effect of the microstructure on the fracture behavior of such weld metals. In this work detailed microstructuralmore » analysis was carried out using optical and electron (SEM and TEM) microscopy. Single edge notched (SEN) bend testpieces were used to assess the cleavage fracture stress, {sigma}{sub F}. Inclusions beneath the notch surface were identified as the crack initiators of unstable cleavage fracture. From the size of such inclusions and the value of tensile stress predicted at the initiation site, the effective surface energy for cleavage was calculated using a modified Griffth energy balance for a penny shape crack. The results suggest that even though inclusions initiate cleavage fracture, the local microstructure may play an important role in the fracture process of these weld metals. The implications of these observations for a quantitative theory of the cleavage fracture of ferritic steels is discussed.« less

Stability and instability of Ellis and phantom wormholes: Are there ghosts?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nandi, K. K.; Potapov, A. A.; Izmailov, R. N.; Tamang, A.; Evans, J. C.

2016-05-01

It is concluded in the literature that the Ellis wormhole is unstable under small perturbations and would either decay to the Schwarzschild black hole or expand away to infinity. While this deterministic conclusion of instability is correct, we show that the Ellis wormhole reduces to the Schwarzschild black hole only when the Ellis solution parameter γ assumes a complex value -i . We shall then reexamine the stability of Ellis and phantom wormholes from the viewpoint of local and asymptotic observers by using a completely different approach, viz., we adapt Tangherlini's nondeterministic, prequantal statistical simulation about photon motion in the real optical medium to an effective medium reformulation of motions obtained via Hamilton's optical-mechanical analogy in a gravity field. A crucial component of Tangherlini's idea is the observed increase of momentum of the photons entering a real medium. We show that this fact has a heuristic parallel in the effective medium version of the Pound-Rebka experiment in gravity. Our conclusion is that there is a nonzero probability that Ellis and phantom wormholes could appear stable or unstable depending on the location of observers and on the values of γ , leading to the possibility of ghost wormholes (like ghost stars). The Schwarzschild horizon, however, would always certainly appear to be stable (R =1 , T =0 ) to observers regardless of their location. Phantom wormholes of bounded mass in the extreme limit a →-1 are also shown to be stable just as the Schwarzschild black hole is. We shall propose a thought experiment showing that our nondeterministic results could be numerically translated into observable deterministic signatures of ghost wormholes.

Modeling of fatigue crack induced nonlinear ultrasonics using a highly parallelized explicit local interaction simulation approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Yanfeng; Cesnik, Carlos E. S.

2016-04-01

This paper presents a parallelized modeling technique for the efficient simulation of nonlinear ultrasonics introduced by the wave interaction with fatigue cracks. The elastodynamic wave equations with contact effects are formulated using an explicit Local Interaction Simulation Approach (LISA). The LISA formulation is extended to capture the contact-impact phenomena during the wave damage interaction based on the penalty method. A Coulomb friction model is integrated into the computation procedure to capture the stick-slip contact shear motion. The LISA procedure is coded using the Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA), which enables the highly parallelized supercomputing on powerful graphic cards. Both the explicit contact formulation and the parallel feature facilitates LISA's superb computational efficiency over the conventional finite element method (FEM). The theoretical formulations based on the penalty method is introduced and a guideline for the proper choice of the contact stiffness is given. The convergence behavior of the solution under various contact stiffness values is examined. A numerical benchmark problem is used to investigate the new LISA formulation and results are compared with a conventional contact finite element solution. Various nonlinear ultrasonic phenomena are successfully captured using this contact LISA formulation, including the generation of nonlinear higher harmonic responses. Nonlinear mode conversion of guided waves at fatigue cracks is also studied.

Full moment tensors for small events (Mw < 3) at Uturuncu volcano, Bolivia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alvizuri, Celso; Tape, Carl

2016-09-01

We present a catalogue of full seismic moment tensors for 63 events from Uturuncu volcano in Bolivia. The events were recorded during 2011-2012 in the PLUTONS seismic array of 24 broad-band stations. Most events had magnitudes between 0.5 and 2.0 and did not generate discernible surface waves; the largest event was Mw 2.8. For each event we computed the misfit between observed and synthetic waveforms, and we used first-motion polarity measurements to reduce the number of possible solutions. Each moment tensor solution was obtained using a grid search over the 6-D space of moment tensors. For each event, we show the misfit function in eigenvalue space, represented by a lune. We identify three subsets of the catalogue: (1) six isotropic events, (2) five tensional crack events, and (3) a swarm of 14 events southeast of the volcanic centre that appear to be double couples. The occurrence of positively isotropic events is consistent with other published results from volcanic and geothermal regions. Several of these previous results, as well as our results, cannot be interpreted within the context of either an oblique opening crack or a crack-plus-double-couple model. Proper characterization of uncertainties for full moment tensors is critical for distinguishing among physical models of source processes.

Development of a Waterproof Crack-Based Stretchable Strain Sensor Based on PDMS Shielding.

PubMed

Hong, Seong Kyung; Yang, Seongjin; Cho, Seong J; Jeon, Hyungkook; Lim, Geunbae

2018-04-12

This paper details the design of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-shielded waterproof crack-based stretchable strain sensor, in which the electrical characteristics and sensing performance are not influenced by changes in humidity. This results in a higher number of potential applications for the sensor. A previously developed omni-purpose stretchable strain (OPSS) sensor was used as the basis for this work, which utilizes a metal cracking structure and provides a wide sensing range and high sensitivity. Changes in the conductivity of the OPSS sensor, based on humidity conditions, were investigated along with the potential possibility of using the design as a humidity sensor. However, to prevent conductivity variation, which can decrease the reliability and sensing ability of the OPSS sensor, PDMS was utilized as a shielding layer over the OPSS sensor. The PDMS-shielded OPSS sensor showed approximately the same electrical characteristics as previous designs, including in a high humidity environment, while maintaining its strain sensing capabilities. The developed sensor shows promise for use under high humidity conditions and in underwater applications. Therefore, considering its unique features and reliable sensing performance, the developed PDMS-shielded waterproof OPSS sensor has potential utility in a wide range of applications, such as motion monitoring, medical robotics and wearable healthcare devices.

Trochanteric fracture-implant motion during healing - A radiostereometry (RSA) study.

PubMed

Bojan, Alicja J; Jönsson, Anders; Granhed, Hans; Ekholm, Carl; Kärrholm, Johan

2018-03-01

Cut-out complication remains a major unsolved problem in the treatment of trochanteric hip fractures. A better understanding of the three-dimensional fracture-implant motions is needed to enable further development of clinical strategies and countermeasures. The aim of this clinical study was to characterise and quantify three-dimensional motions between the implant and the bone and between the lag screw and nail of the Gamma nail. Radiostereometry Analysis (RSA) analysis was applied in 20 patients with trochanteric hip fractures treated with an intramedullary nail. The following three-dimensional motions were measured postoperatively, at 1 week, 3, 6 and 12 months: translations of the tip of the lag screw in the femoral head, motions of the lag screw in the nail, femoral head motions relative to the nail and nail movements in the femoral shaft. Cranial migration of the tip of the lag screw dominated over the other two translation components in the femoral head. In all fractures the lag screw slid laterally in the nail and the femoral head moved both laterally and inferiorly towards the nail. All femoral heads translated posteriorly relative to the nail, and rotations occurred in both directions with median values close to zero. The nail tended to retrovert in the femoral shaft. Adverse fracture-implant motions were detected in stable trochanteric hip fractures treated with intramedullary nails with high resolution. Therefore, RSA method can be used to evaluate new implant designs and clinical strategies, which aim to reduce cut-out complications. Future RSA studies should aim at more unstable fractures as these are more likely to fail with cut-out. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluating motion processing algorithms for use with functional near-infrared spectroscopy data from young children.

PubMed

Delgado Reyes, Lourdes M; Bohache, Kevin; Wijeakumar, Sobanawartiny; Spencer, John P

2018-04-01

Motion artifacts are often a significant component of the measured signal in functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) experiments. A variety of methods have been proposed to address this issue, including principal components analysis (PCA), correlation-based signal improvement (CBSI), wavelet filtering, and spline interpolation. The efficacy of these techniques has been compared using simulated data; however, our understanding of how these techniques fare when dealing with task-based cognitive data is limited. Brigadoi et al. compared motion correction techniques in a sample of adult data measured during a simple cognitive task. Wavelet filtering showed the most promise as an optimal technique for motion correction. Given that fNIRS is often used with infants and young children, it is critical to evaluate the effectiveness of motion correction techniques directly with data from these age groups. This study addresses that problem by evaluating motion correction algorithms implemented in HomER2. The efficacy of each technique was compared quantitatively using objective metrics related to the physiological properties of the hemodynamic response. Results showed that targeted PCA (tPCA), spline, and CBSI retained a higher number of trials. These techniques also performed well in direct head-to-head comparisons with the other approaches using quantitative metrics. The CBSI method corrected many of the artifacts present in our data; however, this approach produced sometimes unstable HRFs. The targeted PCA and spline methods proved to be the most robust, performing well across all comparison metrics. When compared head to head, tPCA consistently outperformed spline. We conclude, therefore, that tPCA is an effective technique for correcting motion artifacts in fNIRS data from young children.

Vibrational modes of hydraulic fractures: Inference of fracture geometry from resonant frequencies and attenuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lipovsky, Bradley P.; Dunham, Eric M.

2015-02-01

Oscillatory seismic signals arising from resonant vibrations of hydraulic fractures are observed in many geologic systems, including volcanoes, glaciers and ice sheets, and hydrocarbon and geothermal reservoirs. To better quantify the physical dimensions of fluid-filled cracks and properties of the fluids within them, we study wave motion along a thin hydraulic fracture waveguide. We present a linearized analysis, valid at wavelengths greater than the fracture aperture, that accounts for quasi-static elastic deformation of the fracture walls, as well as fluid viscosity, inertia, and compressibility. In the long-wavelength limit, anomalously dispersed guided waves known as crack or Krauklis waves propagate with restoring force from fracture wall elasticity. At shorter wavelengths, the waves become sound waves within the fluid channel. Wave attenuation in our model is due to fluid viscosity, rather than seismic radiation from crack tips or fracture wall roughness. We characterize viscous damping at both low frequencies, where the flow is always fully developed, and at high frequencies, where the flow has a nearly constant velocity profile away from viscous boundary layers near the fracture walls. Most observable seismic signals from resonating fractures likely arise in the boundary layer crack wave limit, where fluid-solid coupling is pronounced and attenuation is minimal. We present a method to estimate the aperture and length of a resonating hydraulic fracture using both the seismically observed quality factor and characteristic frequency. Finally, we develop scaling relations between seismic moment and characteristic frequency that might be useful when interpreting the statistics of hydraulic fracture events.

High-performance flexible strain sensor with bio-inspired crack arrays.

PubMed

Han, Zhiwu; Liu, Linpeng; Zhang, Junqiu; Han, Qigang; Wang, Kejun; Song, Honglie; Wang, Ze; Jiao, Zhibin; Niu, Shichao; Ren, Luquan

2018-06-12

Biomimetic sensor technology is always superior to existing human technologies. The scorpion, especially the forest scorpion, has a unique ability to detect subtle vibrations, which is attributed to the microcrack-shaped slit sensillum on its legs. Here, the biological sensing mechanism of the typical scorpion (Heterometrus petersii) was intensively studied in order to newly design and significantly improve the flexible strain sensors. Benefiting from the easy-crack property of polystyrene (PS) and using the solvent-induced swelling as well as double template transferring method, regular and controllable microcrack arrays were successfully fabricated on top of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Using this method, any physical damage to PDMS could be effectively avoided. More fortunately, this bio-inspired crack arrays fabricated in this work also had a radial-like pattern similar to the slit sensillum of the scorpion, which was another unexpected imitation. The gauge factor (GF) of the sensor was conservatively evaluated at 5888.89 upon 2% strain and the response time was 297 ms. Afterward, it was demonstrated that the bio-inspired regular microcrack arrays could also significantly enhance the performance of traditional strain sensors, especially in terms of the sensitivity and response time. The practical applications, such as the detection of human motions and surface folding, were also tested in this work, with the results showing significant potential applications in numerous fields. This work changes the traditional waste cracks on some damaged products into valuable things for ultrasensitive mechanical sensors. Moreover, with this manufacturing technique, we could easily realize the simple, low cost and large-scale fabrication of advanced bioinpired sensors.

Prediction and experimental observation of damage dependent damping in laminated composite beams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, D. H.; Harris, C. E.; Highsmith, A. L.

1987-01-01

The equations of motion are developed for laminated composite beams with load-induced matrix cracking. The damage is accounted for by utilizing internal state variables. The net result of these variables on the field equations is the introduction of both enhanced damping, and degraded stiffness. Both quantities are history dependent and spatially variable, thus resulting in nonlinear equations of motion. It is explained briefly how these equations may be quasi-linearized for laminated polymeric composites under certain types of structural loading. The coupled heat conduction equation is developed, and it is shown that an enhanced Zener damping effect is produced by the introduction of microstructural damage. The resulting equations are utilized to demonstrate how damage dependent material properties may be obtained from dynamic experiments. Finaly, experimental results are compared to model predictions for several composite layups.

Image registration for multi-exposed HDRI and motion deblurring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Seok; Wey, Ho-Cheon; Lee, Seong-Deok

2009-02-01

In multi-exposure based image fusion task, alignment is an essential prerequisite to prevent ghost artifact after blending. Compared to usual matching problem, registration is more difficult when each image is captured under different photographing conditions. In HDR imaging, we use long and short exposure images, which have different brightness and there exist over/under satuated regions. In motion deblurring problem, we use blurred and noisy image pair and the amount of motion blur varies from one image to another due to the different exposure times. The main difficulty is that luminance levels of the two images are not in linear relationship and we cannot perfectly equalize or normalize the brightness of each image and this leads to unstable and inaccurate alignment results. To solve this problem, we applied probabilistic measure such as mutual information to represent similarity between images after alignment. In this paper, we discribed about the characteristics of multi-exposed input images in the aspect of registration and also analyzed the magnitude of camera hand shake. By exploiting the independence of luminance of mutual information, we proposed a fast and practically useful image registration technique in multiple capturing. Our algorithm can be applied to extreme HDR scenes and motion blurred scenes with over 90% success rate and its simplicity enables to be embedded in digital camera and mobile camera phone. The effectiveness of our registration algorithm is examined by various experiments on real HDR or motion deblurring cases using hand-held camera.

Rg excitation by underground explosions: insights from source modelling the 1997 Kazakhstan depth-of-burial experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patton, Howard J.; Bonner, Jessie L.; Gupta, Indra N.

2005-12-01

Near-field seismograms of chemical explosions detonated as part of the 1997 depth-of-burial (DOB) experiment at the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site provide an excellent opportunity to study the excitation of Rg waves for source effects. Rg waves were identified with particle-motion analysis and isolated from other arrivals using group velocity filtering. Amplitude and phase spectra of Rg waves were corrected for path effects based on observed attenuation in the near-field and path-specific phase velocity models. The path-corrected spectra were inputs to a grid-search method for finding source parameters of an axisymmetric source consisting of a monopole plus a compensated linear vector dipole (CLVD) or a horizontal tensile crack. The suite of observations, including ground-zero accelerograms and geophysical data from borehole logs, are best satisfied by models involving a CLVD with static (zero-frequency) seismic moment Mo. The CLVD source is related to tensile failure occurring at depths above the shotpoint. A static Mo distinguishes this source from classical models of spall, which are usually characterized by horizontal cracks that dynamically open and close with no permanent displacement (i.e. no static Mo). The CLVD source in this study appears to be more closely related to a driven block motion model envisaged by Masse. Rg source amplitudes are consistent with mb(Lg) measurements at station MAK, as would be expected if near-field Rg-to-S scattering plays a role in generating S waves observed at regional distances.

A numerical investigation of choked flow dynamics and its application to the triggering mechanism of long-period events at Redoubt Volcano, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morrissey, M.M.; Chouet, B.A.

1997-01-01

We use numerical simulations of transonic flow through a crack to study the dynamics of the formation of shock waves downstream from a nozzle-like constriction inside the crack. The model solves the full set of Navier-Stokes equations in two dimensions via an explicit multifield finite difference representation. The crack walls are assumed to be perfectly rigid, and elastic coupling to the solid is not considered. The simulations demonstrate how the behavior of unsteady shock waves near the walls can produce recurring step-like pressure transients in the flow, which in turn induce resonance of the fluid-filled crack. The motion of the shock waves is governed primarily by smooth, low-amplitude pressure fluctuations at the outlet of the crack. The force induced on the walls scales with the amplitude of the shock, which is a function of the magnitude of the inlet pressure, aperture of the constriction, and thickness of the boundary layer. The applied force also scales in proportion to the spatial extent of the shock excursion, which depends on the fluctuation rate of outlet pressure. Using the source parameters of long-period (LP) events at Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, as a guide for our simulations, we infer that coupling of the shock to the walls occurs for crack inlet to outlet pressure ratios pipo > 2.31 and that the position of the shock front becomes most sensitive to outlet pressure fluctuations for flow regimes with pipo > 2.48. For such regimes, fluctuations of outlet pressure of up to ??0.5 MPa at rates up to 3 MPa/s are sufficient to induce pressure transients with magnitudes up to 12.5 MPa over 0.1-2.5 m of the walls within ???0.5 s. These flow parameters may be adequate for triggering the LP events in the precursory swarm to the December 14, 1989, eruption of Redoubt. According to the flow model the recurrence rate and amplitudes of LP events are inferred to be a manifestation of the response of a shallow hydrothermal reservoir to the sustained injection of superheated steam from a magma column roofing below this reservoir.

Magnetic field amplification by the r-mode instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chugunov, A. I.; Friedman, J. L.; Lindblom, L.; Rezzolla, L.

2017-12-01

We discuss the magnetic field enhancement by unstable r-modes (driven by the gravitational radiation reaction force) in rotating stars. In the absence of a magnetic field, gravitational radiation exponentially increases the r-mode amplitude α, and accelerates differential rotation (secular motion of fluid elements). For a magnetized star, differential rotation enhances the magnetic field energy. Rezzolla et al (2000-2001) argued that if the magnetic energy grows faster than the gravitational radiation reaction force pumps energy into the r-modes, then the r-mode instability is suppressed. Chugunov (2015) demonstrated that without gravitational radiation, differential rotation can be treated as a degree of freedom decoupled from the r-modes and controlled by the back reaction of the magnetic field. In particular, the magnetic field windup does not damp r-modes. Here we discuss the effect of the back reaction of the magnetic field on differential rotation of unstable r-modes, and show that it limits the generated magnetic field and the magnetic energy growth rate preventing suppression of the r-mode instability by magnetic windup at low saturation amplitudes, α ≪ 1, predicted by current models.

Cosmic string lensing and closed timelike curves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shlaer, Benjamin; Tye, S.-H. Henry

2005-08-01

In an analysis of the gravitational lensing by two relativistic cosmic strings, we argue that the formation of closed timelike curves proposed by Gott is unstable in the presence of particles (e.g. the cosmic microwave background radiation). Because of the attractorlike behavior of the closed timelike curve, we argue that this instability is very generic. A single graviton or photon in the vicinity, no matter how soft, is sufficient to bend the strings and prevent the formation of closed timelike curves. We also show that the gravitational lensing due to a moving cosmic string is enhanced by its motion, not suppressed.

Synchronization of two coupled turbulent fires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takagi, Kazushi; Gotoda, Hiroshi; Miyano, Takaya; Murayama, Shogo; Tokuda, Isao T.

2018-04-01

We numerically study the scale-free nature of a buoyancy-induced turbulent fire and synchronization of two coupled turbulent fires. A scale-free structure is detected in weighted networks between vortices, while its lifetime obeys a clear power law, indicating intermittent appearances, disappearances, and reappearances of the scale-free property. A significant decrease in the distance between the two fire sources gives rise to a synchronized state in the near field dominated by the unstable motion of large-scale of transverse vortex rings. The synchronized state vanishes in the far field forming well-developed turbulent plumes, regardless of the distance between the two fire sources.

Preliminary study of the three-dimensional deformation of the vortex in Karman vortex street

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ling, Guocan; Guo, Liang; Wu, Zuobin; Ma, Huiyang

1992-03-01

The mechanism for 3D evolution of the isolated Karman vortex and the thin-vortex filament in a circular cylinder wake is studied numerically using the LIA method. The results show that the vortex motion is unstable for small 3D disturbances in the separated wake of a circular cylinder. Karman vortex in the time-averaged wake flowfield wolves into a horseshoe-spoon-like 3D structure. The thin vortex filament deforms three-dimensionally in the braid and generates streamwise vortex structures which incline to the region maximum-deformation direction of the flowfield.

High-Speed Imaging of Dusty Plasma Instabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tawidian, H.; Couëdel, L.; Mikikian, M.; Lecas, T.; Boufendi, L.; Vallée, O.

2011-11-01

Dust particles in a plasma acquire negative charges by capturing electrons. If the dust particle density is high, a huge loss of free electrons can trigger unstable behaviors in the plasma. Several types of plasma behaviors are analyzed thanks to a high-speed camera like dust particle growth instabilities (DPGI) and a new phenomenon called plasma spheroids. These small plasma spheroids are about a few mm, have a slightly enhanced luminosity, and are observed in the vicinity of the electrodes. Different behaviors are identified for these spheroids like a rotational motion, or a chaotic regime (fast appearance and disappearance).

Migration of Gas Giant Planets in a Gravitationally Unstable Disk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Desai, Karna Mahadev; Steiman-Cameron, Thomas Y.; Michael, Scott; Durisen, Richard H.

2017-01-01

Understanding the migration of giant planets in gravitationally unstable protoplanetary disks is important for understanding planetary system architecture, especially the existence of planets orbiting close to and at large distances from their stars. Migration rates can determine the efficiency of planet formation and survival rates of planets. We present results from simulations of 0.3, 1, and 3 Jupiter-mass planets in a 0.14 M⊙ protoplanetary disk around a 1 M⊙ star, where the disk is marginally unstable to gravitational instabilities (GIs). Each planet is simulated separately. We use CHYMERA, a radiative 3D hydrodynamics code developed by the Indiana University Hydrodynamics Group. The simulations include radiative cooling governed by realistic dust opacities. The planets are inserted into the disk, once the disk has settled into its quasi-steady GI-active phase. We simulate each of the 0.3, 1, and 3 Jupiter-mass planets by inserting it at three different locations in the disk, at the corotation radius and at the inner and outer Lindblad resonances. No matter where placed, the 3 Jupiter-mass planets tend to drift inexorably inward but with a rate that slows after many orbital periods. The 1 Jupiter-mass planets migrate mostly inward, but their motion can be delayed or reversed near the corotation of the two-armed wave. The 0.3 Jupiter-mass planets are much less predictable and frequently migrate outward. We analyze how the density of matter and waves in the disk at different azimuthal locations affect the migration.

Migration of Gas Giant Planets in Gravitationally Unstable Disks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michael, Scott; Durisen, Richard H.; Boley, Aaron C.

2011-08-01

Characterization of migration in gravitationally unstable disks is necessary to understand the fate of protoplanets formed by disk instability. As part of a larger study, we are using a three-dimensional radiative hydrodynamics code to investigate how an embedded gas giant planet interacts with a gas disk that undergoes gravitational instabilities (GIs). This Letter presents results from simulations with a Jupiter-mass planet placed in orbit at 25 AU within a 0.14 M sun disk. The disk spans 5-40 AU around a 1 M sun star and is initially marginally unstable. In one simulation, the planet is inserted prior to the eruption of GIs; in another, it is inserted only after the disk has settled into a quasi-steady GI-active state, where heating by GIs roughly balances radiative cooling. When the planet is present from the beginning, its own wake stimulates growth of a particular global mode with which it strongly interacts, and the planet plunges inward 6 AU in about 103 years. In both cases with embedded planets, there are times when the planet's radial motion is slow and varies in direction. At other times, when the planet appears to be interacting with strong spiral modes, migration both inward and outward can be relatively rapid, covering several AUs over hundreds of years. Migration in both cases appears to stall near the inner Lindblad resonance of a dominant low-order mode. Planet orbit eccentricities fluctuate rapidly between about 0.02 and 0.1 throughout the GI-active phases of the simulations.

The Design of Feedback Control Systems Containing a Saturation Type Nonlinearity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmidt, Stanley F.; Harper, Eleanor V.

1960-01-01

A derivation of the optimum response for a step input for plant transfer functions which have an unstable pole and further data on plants with a single zero in the left half of the s plane. The calculated data are presented tabulated in normalized form. Optimum control systems are considered. The optimum system is defined as one which keeps the error as small as possible regardless of the input, under the constraint that the input to the plant (or controlled system) is limited. Intuitive arguments show that in the case where only the error can be sensed directly, the optimum system is obtained from the optimum relay or on-off solution. References to known solutions are presented. For the case when the system is of the sampled-data type, arguments are presented which indicate the optimum sampled-data system may be extremely difficult if not impossible to realize practically except for very simple plant transfer functions. Two examples of aircraft attitude autopilots are presented, one for a statically stable and the other for a statically unstable airframe. The rate of change of elevator motion is assumed limited for these examples. It is shown that by use of nonlinear design techniques described in NASA TN D-20 one can obtain near optimum response for step inputs and reason- able response to sine wave inputs for either case. Also, the nonlinear design prevents inputs from driving the system unstable for either case.

STABILITY OF ROTATING MAGNETIZED JETS IN THE SOLAR ATMOSPHERE. I. KELVIN–HELMHOLTZ INSTABILITY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zaqarashvili, Teimuraz V.; Zhelyazkov, Ivan; Ofman, Leon, E-mail: teimuraz.zaqarashvili@uni-graz.at

2015-11-10

Observations show various jets in the solar atmosphere with significant rotational motions, which may undergo instabilities leading to heat ambient plasma. We study the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) of twisted and rotating jets caused by the velocity jumps near the jet surface. We derive a dispersion equation with appropriate boundary conditions for total pressure (including centrifugal force of tube rotation), which governs the dynamics of incompressible jets. Then, we obtain analytical instability criteria of KHI in various cases, which were verified by numerical solutions to the dispersion equation. We find that twisted and rotating jets are unstable to KHI when themore » kinetic energy of rotation is more than the magnetic energy of the twist. Our analysis shows that the azimuthal magnetic field of 1–5 G can stabilize observed rotations in spicule/macrospicules and X-ray/extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) jets. On the other hand, nontwisted jets are always unstable to KHI. In this case, the instability growth time is several seconds for spicule/macrospicules and a few minutes (or less) for EUV/X-ray jets. We also find that standing kink and torsional Alfvén waves are always unstable near the antinodes, owing to the jump of azimuthal velocity at the surface, while the propagating waves are generally stable. Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) vortices may lead to enhanced turbulence development and heating of surrounding plasma; therefore, rotating jets may provide energy for chromospheric and coronal heating.« less

Low cost silicon solar array project silicon materials task: Establishment of the feasibility of a process capable of low-cost, high volume production of silane (step 1) and the pyrolysis of silane to semiconductor-grade silicon (step 2)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Breneman, W. C.; Farrier, E. G.; Rexer, J.

1977-01-01

Extended operation of a small process-development unit routinely produced high quality silane in 97+% yield from dichlorosilane. The production rate was consistent with design loadings for the fractionating column and for the redistribution reactor. A glass fluid-bed reactor was constructed for room temperature operation. The behavior of a bed of silcon particles was observed as a function of various feedstocks, component configurations, and operating conditions. For operating modes other than spouting, the bed behaved in an erratic and unstable manner. A method was developed for casting molten silicon powder into crack-free solid pellets for process evaluation. The silicon powder was melted and cast into thin walled quartz tubes that sacrificially broke on cooling.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kesgin, Ibrahim; Hasse, Quentin; Ivanyushenkov, Yury

The use of second-generation high-temperature superconducting-coated conductors enables an enhancement of the performance of undulator magnets. However, preventing the motion of the wire and providing sufficient conduction cooling to the winding stacks have remained challenges. In this study, we have evaluated epoxy impregnation techniques to address these issues. Epoxy resin was prepared with different nanopowders and the effect on the performance of the undulator coil pack was investigated. All epoxy impregnated coils showed smaller n values and some degree of deterioration of the critical current I c. The I c degradation was most pronounced for epoxy mixed with high aspectmore » ratio multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). It has been found that the crack formation in the epoxy results in plastic deformation of the copper stabilizer layer, which causes the underlying ceramic REBCO superconducting layer to crack resulting in degradation of the superconducting tape performance. As a result, careful adjustment of epoxy thickness surrounding the superconductor and the powder ratio in the epoxy eliminate the performance degradation.« less

Free vibration analysis of a cracked shear deformable beam on a two-parameter elastic foundation using a lattice spring model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Attar, M.; Karrech, A.; Regenauer-Lieb, K.

2014-05-01

The free vibration of a shear deformable beam with multiple open edge cracks is studied using a lattice spring model (LSM). The beam is supported by a so-called two-parameter elastic foundation, where normal and shear foundation stiffnesses are considered. Through application of Timoshenko beam theory, the effects of transverse shear deformation and rotary inertia are taken into account. In the LSM, the beam is discretised into a one-dimensional assembly of segments interacting via rotational and shear springs. These springs represent the flexural and shear stiffnesses of the beam. The supporting action of the elastic foundation is described also by means of normal and shear springs acting on the centres of the segments. The relationship between stiffnesses of the springs and the elastic properties of the one-dimensional structure are identified by comparing the homogenised equations of motion of the discrete system and Timoshenko beam theory.

EMG activity of hip and trunk muscles during deep-water running.

PubMed

Kaneda, Koichi; Sato, Daisuke; Wakabayashi, Hitoshi; Nomura, Takeo

2009-12-01

The present study used synchronized motion analysis to investigate the activity of hip and trunk muscles during deep-water running (DWR) relative to land walking (LW) and water walking (WW). Nine healthy men performed each exercise at self-determined slow, moderate, and fast paces, and surface electromyography was used to investigate activity of the adductor longus, gluteus maxima, gluteus medius, rectus abdominis, oblique externus abdominis, and erector spinae. The following kinematic parameters were calculated: the duration of one cycle, range of motion (ROM) of the hip joint, and absolute angles of the pelvis and trunk with respect to the vertical axis in the sagittal plane. The percentages of maximal voluntary contraction (%MVC) of each muscle were higher during DWR than during LW and WW. The %MVC of the erector spinae during WW increased concomitant with the pace increment. The hip joint ROMs were larger in DWR than in LW and WW. Forward inclinations of the trunk were apparent for DWR and fast-paced WW. The pelvis was inclined forward in DWR and WW. In conclusion, the higher-level activities during DWR are affected by greater hip joint motion and body inclinations with an unstable floating situation.

Use of hinged transarticular external fixation for adjunctive joint stabilization in dogs and cats: 14 cases (1999-2003).

PubMed

Jaeger, Gayle H; Wosar, Marc A; Marcellin-Little, Denis J; Lascelles, B Duncan X

2005-08-15

To describe placement of hinged transarticular external fixation (HTEF) frames and evaluate their ability to protect the primary repair of unstable joints while allowing joint mobility in dogs and cats. Retrospective study. 8 cats and 6 dogs. HTEF frames were composed of metal or epoxy connecting rods and a hinge. Measurements of range of motion of affected and contralateral joints and radiographs were made after fixator application and removal. 9 animals (4 cats and 5 dogs) had tarsal and 5 (4 cats and 1 dog) had stifle joint injuries. Treatment duration ranged from 45 to 100 days (median, 57 days). Ranges of motion in affected stifle and tarsal joints were 57% and 72% of control while HTEF was in place and 79% and 84% of control after frame removal. Complications were encountered in 3 cats and 2 dogs and included breakage of pins and connecting rods, hinge loosening, and failure at the hinge-epoxy interface. HTEF in animals with traumatic joint instability provided adjunctive joint stabilization during healing and protection of the primary repair and maintained joint motion during healing, resulting in early weight bearing of the affected limb.

Microseismicity of an Unstable Rock Mass: From Field Monitoring to Laboratory Testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colombero, C.; Comina, C.; Vinciguerra, S.; Benson, P. M.

2018-02-01

The field-scale microseismic (MS) activity of an unstable rock mass is known to be an important tool to assess damage and cracking processes eventually leading to macroscopic failures. However, MS-event rates alone may not be enough for a complete understanding of the trigger mechanisms of mechanical instabilities. Acoustic Emission (AE) techniques at the laboratory scale can be used to provide complementary information. In this study, we report a MS/AE comparison to assess the stability of a granitic rock mass in the northwestern Italian Alps (Madonna del Sasso). An attempt to bridge the gap between the two different scales of observation, and the different site and laboratory conditions, is undertaken to gain insights on the rock mass behavior as a function of external governing factors. Time- and frequency-domain parameters of the MS/AE waveforms are compared and discussed with this aim. At the field scale, special attention is devoted to the correlation of the MS-event rate with meteorological parameters (air temperature and rainfalls). At the laboratory scale, AE rates, waveforms, and spectral content, recorded under controlled temperature and fluid conditions, are analyzed in order to better constrain the physical mechanisms responsible for the observed field patterns. The factors potentially governing the mechanical instability at the site were retrieved from the integration of the results. Abrupt thermal variations were identified as the main cause of the site microsesimicity, without highlighting irreversible acceleration in the MS-event rate potentially anticipating the rock mass collapse.

Testing and Analysis of Composite Skin/Stringer Debonding Under Multi-Axial Loading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krueger, Ronald; Cvitkovich, Michael K.; O'Brien, T. Kevin; Minguet, Pierre J.

2000-01-01

A consistent step-wise approach is presented to investigate the damage mechanism in composite bonded skin/stringer constructions under uniaxial and biaxial (in-plane/out-of-plane) loading conditions. The approach uses experiments to detect the failure mechanism, computational stress analysis to determine the location of first matrix cracking and computational fracture mechanics to investigate the potential for delamination growth. In a first step, tests were performed on specimens, which consisted of a tapered composite flange, representing a stringer or frame, bonded onto a composite skin. Tests were performed under monotonic loading conditions in tension, three-point bending, and combined tension/bending to evaluate the debonding mechanisms between the skin and the bonded stringer. For combined tension/bending testing, a unique servohydraulic load frame was used that was capable of applying both in-plane tension and out-of-plane bending loads simultaneously. Specimen edges were examined on the microscope to document the damage occurrence and to identify typical damage patterns. For all three load cases, observed failure initiated in the flange, near the flange tip, causing the flange to almost fully debond from skin. In a second step, a two dimensional plane-strain finite element model was developed to analyze the different test cases using a geometrically nonlinear solution. For all three loading conditions, computed principal stresses exceeded the transverse strength of the material in those areas of the flange where the matrix cracks had developed during the tests. In a third step, delaminations of various lengths were simulated in two locations where delaminations were observed during the tests. The analyses showed that at the loads corresponding to matrix ply crack initiation computed strain energy release rates exceeded the values obtained from a mixed mode failure criterion in one location, Hence. Unstable delamination propagation is likely to occur as observed in the experiments.

Testing and Analysis of Composite Skin/Stringer Debonding under Multi-Axial Loading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krueger, Ronald; Cvitkovich, Michael; OBrien, Kevin; Minguet, Pierre J.

2000-01-01

A consistent step-wise approach is presented to investigate the damage mechanism in composite bonded skin/stringer constructions under uniaxial and biaxial (in-plane/out-of-plane) loading conditions. The approach uses experiments to detect the failure mechanism, computational stress analysis to determine the location of first matrix cracking and computational fracture mechanics to investigate the potential for delamination growth. In a first step, tests were performed on specimens, which consisted of a tapered composite flange, representing a stringer or frame, bonded onto a composite skin. Tests were performed under monotonic loading conditions in tension, three-point bending, and combined tension/bending to evaluate the debonding mechanisms between the skin and the bonded stringer. For combined tension/bending testing, a unique servohydraulic load frame was used that was capable of applying both in-plane tension and out-of-plane bending loads simultaneously. Specimen edges were examined on the microscope to document the damage occurrence and to identify typical damage patterns. For all three load cases, observed failure initiated in the flange, near the flange tip, causing the flange to almost fully debond from the skin. In a second step, a two-dimensional plane-strain finite element model was developed to analyze the different test cases using a geometrically nonlinear solution. For all three loading conditions, computed principal stresses exceeded the transverse strength of the material in those areas of the flange where the matrix cracks had developed during the tests. In a third step, delaminations of various lengths were simulated in two locations where delaminations were observed during the tests. The analyses showed that at the loads corresponding to matrix ply crack initiation computed strain energy release rates exceeded the values obtained from a mixed mode failure criterion in one location. Hence, unstable delamination propagation is likely to occur as observed in the experiments.

GPU-based simulations of fracture in idealized brick and mortar composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

William Pro, J.; Kwei Lim, Rone; Petzold, Linda R.; Utz, Marcel; Begley, Matthew R.

2015-07-01

Stiff ceramic platelets (or bricks) that are aligned and bonded to a second ductile phase with low volume fraction (mortar) are a promising pathway to produce stiff, high-toughness composites. For certain ranges of constituent properties, including those of some synthetic analogs to nacre, one can demonstrate that the deformation is dominated by relative brick motions. This paper describes simulations of fracture that explicitly track the motions of individual rigid bricks in an idealized microstructure; cohesive tractions acting between the bricks introduce elastic, plastic and rupture behaviors. Results are presented for the stresses and damage near macroscopic cracks with different brick orientations relative to the loading orientation. The anisotropic macroscopic initiation toughness is computed for small-scale yielding conditions and is shown to be independent of specimen geometry and loading configuration. The results are shown to be in agreement with previously published experiments on synthetic nacre.

Systematic observations of the slip pulse properties of large earthquake ruptures

USGS Publications Warehouse

Melgar, Diego; Hayes, Gavin

2017-01-01

In earthquake dynamics there are two end member models of rupture: propagating cracks and self-healing pulses. These arise due to different properties of faults and have implications for seismic hazard; rupture mode controls near-field strong ground motions. Past studies favor the pulse-like mode of rupture; however, due to a variety of limitations, it has proven difficult to systematically establish their kinematic properties. Here we synthesize observations from a database of >150 rupture models of earthquakes spanning M7–M9 processed in a uniform manner and show the magnitude scaling properties of these slip pulses indicates self-similarity. Further, we find that large and very large events are statistically distinguishable relatively early (at ~15 s) in the rupture process. This suggests that with dense regional geophysical networks strong ground motions from a large rupture can be identified before their onset across the source region.

Mechanism for verification of mismatched and homoduplex DNAs by nucleotides-bound MutS analyzed by molecular dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Ishida, Hisashi; Matsumoto, Atsushi

2016-09-01

In order to understand how MutS recognizes mismatched DNA and induces the reaction of DNA repair using ATP, the dynamics of the complexes of MutS (bound to the ADP and ATP nucleotides, or not) and DNA (with mismatched and matched base-pairs) were investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. As for DNA, the structure of the base-pairs of the homoduplex DNA which interacted with the DNA recognition site of MutS was intermittently disturbed, indicating that the homoduplex DNA was unstable. As for MutS, the disordered loops in the ATPase domains, which are considered to be necessary for the induction of DNA repair, were close to (away from) the nucleotide-binding sites in the ATPase domains when the nucleotides were (not) bound to MutS. This indicates that the ATPase domains changed their structural stability upon ATP binding using the disordered loop. Conformational analysis by principal component analysis showed that the nucleotide binding changed modes which have structurally solid ATPase domains and the large bending motion of the DNA from higher to lower frequencies. In the MutS-mismatched DNA complex bound to two nucleotides, the bending motion of the DNA at low frequency modes may play a role in triggering the formation of the sliding clamp for the following DNA-repair reaction step. Moreover, MM-PBSA/GBSA showed that the MutS-homoduplex DNA complex bound to two nucleotides was unstable because of the unfavorable interactions between MutS and DNA. This would trigger the ATP hydrolysis or separation of MutS and DNA to continue searching for mismatch base-pairs. Proteins 2016; 84:1287-1303. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Radiation Pressure, Poynting-Robertson Drag, and Solar Wind Drag in the Restricted Three-Body Problem

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liou, Jer-Chyi; Zook, Herbert A.; Jackson, A. A.

1995-01-01

In this paper, we examine the effects of radiation pressure, Poynting-Robertson (PR) drag, and solar wind drag on dust grains trapped in mean motion resonances with the Sun and Jupiter in the restricted (negligible dust mass) three-body Problem. We especially examine the evolution of dust grains in the 1:1 resonance. As a first step, the Sun and Jupiter are idealized to both be in circular orbit about a common center of mass (circular restricted three-body problem). From the equation of motion of the dust particle in the rotating reference frame, the drag-induced time rate of change of its Jacobi "constant," C, is then derived and expressed in spherical coordinates. This new mathematical expression in spherical coordinates shows that C, in the 1:1 resonance, both oscillates and secularly increases with increasing time. The new expression gives rise to an easy understanding of how an orbit evolves when the radiation force and solar wind drag are included. All dust grain orbits are unstable in time when PR and solar wind drag are included in the Sun-Jupiter-dust system. Tadpole orbits evolve into horseshoe orbits; and these orbits continuously expand in size to lead to close encounters with Jupiter. Permanent trapping is impossible. Orbital evolutions of a dust grain trapped in the 1:1 resonance in the planar circular, an inclined case, an eccentric case, and the actual Sun-Jupiter case are numerically simulated and compared with each other and show grossly similar time behavior. Resonances other than 1:1 are also explored with the new expression. Stable exterior resonance trapping may be possible under certain conditions. One necessary condition for such a trap is derived. Trapping in interior resonances is shown to be always unstable.

Temporal Evolution of Surface Deformation and Magma Sources at Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala Revealed by InSAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wnuk, K.; Wauthier, C.

2016-12-01

Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala is a persistently active volcano whose western flank is unstable. Despite continuous activity since 1961, a lack of high temporal resolution geodetic surveying has prevented detailed modeling of Pacaya's underlying magmatic plumbing system. A new, temporally dense dataset of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) RADARSAT-2 images, spanning December 2012 to March 2014, shows magmatic deformation before and during major eruptions in January and March 2014. Inverse modeling of InSAR surface displacements suggest that three magma bodies are responsible for observed deformation: (1) a 3.7 km deep spherical reservoir located northwest of the summit, (2) a 0.4 km deep spherical source located directly west of the summit, and (3) a shallow dike below the summit that provides the primary transport pathway for erupted materials. Periods of heightened activity are brought on by magma pulses at depth, which result in rapid inflation of the edifice. We observe an intrusion cycle at Pacaya that consists of deflation of one or both magma reservoirs followed by dike intrusion. Intrusion volumes are proportional to reservoir volume loss, and do not always result in an eruption. Periods of increased activity culminate with larger dike fed eruptions. Large eruptions are followed by inter eruptive periods marked by a decrease in crater explosions and a lack of deformation. A full understanding of magmatic processes at Pacaya is required to assess potential impacts on other aspects of the volcano such as the unstable western flank. Co-eruptive flank motion appears to have initiated a new stage of volcanic rifting at Pacaya defined by repeated NW-SE dike intrusions. This creates a positive feedback relationship whereby magmatic forcing from eruptive dike intrusions induces flank motion

IMPULSE Highlights for recent experiments at the Advanced Photon Source (2/9-2/18 2014)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jensen, Brian J.

2014-03-18

This report is a presentation, with slides noting, Over 40 experiments were completed during this run using X-ray imaging on the IMPULSE system at Sector 32 IDB; Summary of new experiments: Idealized sphere compaction – Capture progression of dynamic densification through an idealized system on 0.500 mm borosilicate glass spheres (Slide 1); Detonator and EBW Imaging Experiments on IMPULSE – First time HE was intentionally detonated at APS (Slide 2); Spall and high strain rate crack nucleation/propagation in PMMA – PCI data is providing new and unique insights for model validation (Slide 3); Fiber composite for armor applications was studiedmore » under ballistic impact of Dyneema (Collaboration with Army Research Laboratory) (Slide 4). Summary of on-going experiments; Crack propagation in vitreous carbon – observed crack motion and caustic; Jet formation experiments on large grain cerium to examine phase dependent strength; Ballistic impact of Comp-B and TNT to examine thermo-mechanical response in-situ with various penetrator geometries to vary shear concentration. Other efforts: IMPULSE system moved and installed in Sector 35 (DCS). This includes the 4-frame X-ray detection system, 4- channel PDV, and other gun diagnostics; New remotely operated mobile IMPULSE structure in fabrication – to be delivered to APS in April; 4 Mini-VISAR Systems and 4-channel PDV installed in DCS instrumentation room with all associated diagnostics.« less

Active and passive seismic methods for characterization and monitoring of unstable rock masses: field surveys, laboratory tests and modeling.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colombero, Chiara; Baillet, Laurent; Comina, Cesare; Jongmans, Denis; Vinciguerra, Sergio

2016-04-01

Appropriate characterization and monitoring of potentially unstable rock masses may provide a better knowledge of the active processes and help to forecast the evolution to failure. Among the available geophysical methods, active seismic surveys are often suitable to infer the internal structure and the fracturing conditions of the unstable body. For monitoring purposes, although remote-sensing techniques and in-situ geotechnical measurements are successfully tested on landslides, they may not be suitable to early forecast sudden rapid rockslides. Passive seismic monitoring can help for this purpose. Detection, classification and localization of microseismic events within the prone-to-fall rock mass can provide information about the incipient failure of internal rock bridges. Acceleration to failure can be detected from an increasing microseismic event rate. The latter can be compared with meteorological data to understand the external factors controlling stability. On the other hand, seismic noise recorded on prone-to-fall rock slopes shows that the temporal variations in spectral content and correlation of ambient vibrations can be related to both reversible and irreversible changes within the rock mass. We present the results of the active and passive seismic data acquired at the potentially unstable granitic cliff of Madonna del Sasso (NW Italy). Down-hole tests, surface refraction and cross-hole tomography were carried out for the characterization of the fracturing state of the site. Field surveys were implemented with laboratory determination of physico-mechanical properties on rock samples and measurements of the ultrasonic pulse velocity. This multi-scale approach led to a lithological interpretation of the seismic velocity field obtained at the site and to a systematic correlation of the measured velocities with physical properties (density and porosity) and macroscopic features of the granitic cliff (fracturing, weathering and anisotropy). Continuous passive seismic monitoring at the site, from October 2013 to present, systematically highlighted clear energy peaks in the spectral content of seismic noise on the unstable sector, interpreted as resonant frequencies of the investigated volume. Both spectral analysis and cross-correlation of seismic noise showed seasonal reversible variation trends related to air temperature fluctuations. No irreversible changes, resulting from serious damage processes within the rock mass, were detected so far. Modal analysis and geomechanical modeling of the unstable cliff are currently under investigation to better understand the vibration modes that could explain the measured amplitude and orientation of ground motion at the first resonant frequencies. Classification and location of microseismic events still remains the most challenging task, due to the complex structural and morphological setting of the site.

Plates and Mantle Convection: A Far-From Equilibrium Self-Organized System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

King, S. D.; Lowman, J. P.; Gable, C. W.

2001-12-01

A common observation of plate tectonics is that plate velocities change over short time scales. Some have speculated that these reorganization events are triggered by evolving plate boundaries. This work presents an alternative mechanism, due to the interaction of mobil plates and internally heated convection. We present numerical models of 3D Cartesian convection in an internally-heated fluid with mobile plates that exhibit rapid changes in plate motion. A persistent feature of these calculations is that plate motion is relatively uniform punctuated by rapid reorganization events where plate speed and direction change over a short time period. The rapid changes in plate motion result solely from the interaction of internally-heated convection and the mobile plates. Without plates, the convective planform of an internally-heated fluid evolves into a pattern with a larger number of small cells. When plates are included, the fluid is dominated by plate-scale structures; however, isolated regions develop where heat builds up. These isolated regions are near the location of mature slabs where the plates are older and thicker. As the system evolves, the temperature (and buoyancy) in these isolated regions increases, they become unstable and, as they rise, the net force on the plate is no longer dominated by `slab pull' from the mature slab. The plate reorganization allows the system to transfer heat from the short-wavelength, internal-heating scale, to the longer-wavelength, plate-cooling scale. As we will demonstrate, the interaction between plate motions and the mantle is sufficiently dynamic that evolving plate boundaries are not necessary to achieve rapid changes in plate motion.

Lateral motion stability of high-temperature superconducting maglev systems derived from a nonlinear guidance force hysteretic model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Haitao; Deng, Zigang; Jin, Li’an; Li, Jipeng; Li, Yanxing; Zheng, Jun

2018-07-01

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) maglev, owning to the capability of passive stabilization, is potentially promising for high-speed transportation. The guidance force of bulk HTS materials above a permanent magnetic guideway has a nonlinear response due to the hysteresis effect. As a kind of rail transit, when the vehicle runs along the track, the curve and other disturbances will cause vibrations to the vehicle system. These physical factors will pose dynamic loads on the components, reducing structural reliability as well as affecting the ride comfort. The lateral motion, as an important part of the vehicle system dynamics, needs to be studied in the pursuit of HTS maglev realization. In this paper, we first measured the guidance forces of HTS bulks under different motion conditions, and analyzed the relationship between the lateral displacement, the movement velocity and the guidance force. Then, a mathematical model was built based on these experimental data. The key feature of this mathematical model is that it can describe the hysteresis characteristic of the guidance force. Based on this model, we investigated the lateral motion stability of the HTS levitation system, and found three singular points, one stable focus point, and two unstable saddle points. Lastly, a phase portrait was proposed to indicate the safe working region of the HTS maglev vehicle where the vehicle can automatically return to its equilibrium position. These experimental and simulation results are important to clarify the lateral motion stability under external disturbance or shock, and provide a reference basis for the design of levitation systems.

GPS Imaging of Global Vertical Land Motion for Sea Level Studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hammond, W. C.; Blewitt, G.; Hamlington, B. D.

2015-12-01

Coastal vertical land motion contributes to the signal of local relative sea level change. Moreover, understanding global sea level change requires understanding local sea level rise at many locations around Earth. It is therefore essential to understand the regional secular vertical land motion attributable to mantle flow, tectonic deformation, glacial isostatic adjustment, postseismic viscoelastic relaxation, groundwater basin subsidence, elastic rebound from groundwater unloading or other processes that can change the geocentric height of tide gauges anchored to the land. These changes can affect inferences of global sea level rise and should be taken into account for global projections. We present new results of GPS imaging of vertical land motion across most of Earth's continents including its ice-free coastlines around North and South America, Europe, Australia, Japan, parts of Africa and Indonesia. These images are based on data from many independent open access globally distributed continuously recording GPS networks including over 13,500 stations. The data are processed in our system to obtain solutions aligned to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF08). To generate images of vertical rate we apply the Median Interannual Difference Adjusted for Skewness (MIDAS) algorithm to the vertical times series to obtain robust non-parametric estimates with realistic uncertainties. We estimate the vertical land motion at the location of 1420 tide gauges locations using Delaunay-based geographic interpolation with an empirically derived distance weighting function and median spatial filtering. The resulting image is insensitive to outliers and steps in the GPS time series, omits short wavelength features attributable to unstable stations or unrepresentative rates, and emphasizes long-wavelength mantle-driven vertical rates.

Characterization of Aircraft Structural Damage Using Guided Wave Based Finite Element Analysis for In-Flight Structural Health Management

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seshadri, Banavara R.; Krishnamurthy, Thiagarajan; Ross, Richard W.

2016-01-01

The development of multidisciplinary Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) tools will enable accurate detection, diagnosis and prognosis of damage under normal and adverse conditions during flight. The adverse conditions include loss of control caused by environmental factors, actuator and sensor faults or failures, and structural damage conditions. A major concern is the growth of undetected damage/cracks due to fatigue and low velocity foreign object impact that can reach a critical size during flight, resulting in loss of control of the aircraft. To avoid unstable catastrophic propagation of damage during a flight, load levels must be maintained that are below the load-carrying capacity for damaged aircraft structures. Hence, a capability is needed for accurate real-time predictions of safe load carrying capacity for aircraft structures with complex damage configurations. In the present work, a procedure is developed that uses guided wave responses to interrogate damage. As the guided wave interacts with damage, the signal attenuates in some directions and reflects in others. This results in a difference in signal magnitude as well as phase shifts between signal responses for damaged and undamaged structures. Accurate estimation of damage size and location is made by evaluating the cumulative signal responses at various pre-selected sensor locations using a genetic algorithm (GA) based optimization procedure. The damage size and location is obtained by minimizing the difference between the reference responses and the responses obtained by wave propagation finite element analysis of different representative cracks, geometries and sizes.

Sulfur Transformation during Microwave and Conventional Pyrolysis of Sewage Sludge.

PubMed

Zhang, Jun; Zuo, Wei; Tian, Yu; Chen, Lin; Yin, Linlin; Zhang, Jie

2017-01-03

The sulfur distributions and evolution of sulfur-containing compounds in the char, tar and gas fractions were investigated during the microwave and conventional pyrolysis of sewage sludge. Increased accumulation of sulfur in the char and less production of H 2 S were obtained from microwave pyrolysis at higher temperatures (500-800 °C). Three similar conversion pathways were identified for the formation of H 2 S during microwave and conventional pyrolysis. The cracking of unstable mercaptan structure in the sludge contributed to the release of H 2 S below 300 °C. The decomposition of aliphatic-S compounds in the tars led to the formation of H 2 S (300-500 °C). The thermal decomposition of aromatic-S compounds in the tars generated H 2 S from 500 to 800 °C. However, the secondary decomposition of thiophene-S compounds took place only in conventional pyrolysis above 700 °C. Comparing the H 2 S contributions from microwave and conventional pyrolysis, the significant increase of H 2 S yields in conventional pyrolysis was mainly attributed to the decomposition of aromatic-S (increasing by 10.4%) and thiophene-S compounds (11.3%). Further investigation on the inhibition mechanism of H 2 S formation during microwave pyrolysis confirmed that, with the special heating characteristics and relative shorter residence time, microwave pyrolysis promoted the retention of H 2 S on CaO and inhibited the secondary cracking of thiophene-S compounds at higher temperatures.

A sliding-control switch stabilizes synchronized states in a model of actuated cilia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buchmann, Amy; Cortez, Ricardo; Fauci, Lisa

2017-11-01

A key function of cilia, flexible hairlike appendages located on the surface of a cell, is the transport of mucus in the lungs, where the cilia self-organize forming a metachronal wave that propels the surrounding fluid. Cilia also play an important role in the locomotion of ciliated microswimmers and other biological processes. To analyze the coordinated movement of cilia interacting through a fluid, we model each cilium as an elastic, actuated body whose beat pattern is driven by a geometric switch that drives the motion of the power and recovery strokes. The cilia are coupled to the viscous fluid using a numerical method based upon a centerline distribution of regularized Stokeslets. We first characterize the beat cycle and flow produced by a single cilium and then present results on the synchronization states between two cilia that show that the in-phase equilibrium is unstable while the anti-phase equilibrium is stable under the geometric switch model. Adding a sliding-control switching mechanism stabilizes the in-phase motion.

Shearing black holes and scans of the quark matter phase diagram

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McInnes, Brett

2014-01-01

Future facilities such as FAIR and NICA are expected to produce collisions of heavy ions generating quark-gluon plasmas (QGPs) with large values of the quark chemical potential; peripheral collisions in such experiments will also lead to large values of the angular momentum density, associated with the internal shearing motion of the plasma. It is well known that shearing motions in fluids can lead to instabilities which cause a transition from laminar to turbulent flow, and such instabilities in the QGP have recently attracted some attention. We set up a holographic model of this situation by constructing a gravitational dual system exhibiting an instability which is indeed triggered by shearing angular momentum in the bulk. We show that holography indicates that the transition to an unstable fluid happens more quickly as one scans across the quark matter phase diagram towards large values of the chemical potential. This may have negative consequences for the observability of quark polarization effects.

Perpetual Points: New Tool for Localization of Coexisting Attractors in Dynamical Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dudkowski, Dawid; Prasad, Awadhesh; Kapitaniak, Tomasz

Perpetual points (PPs) are special critical points for which the magnitude of acceleration describing the dynamics drops to zero, while the motion is still possible (stationary points are excluded), e.g. considering the motion of the particle in the potential field, at perpetual point, it has zero acceleration and nonzero velocity. We show that using PPs we can trace all the stable fixed points in the system, and that the structure of trajectories leading from former points to stable equilibria may be similar to orbits obtained from unstable stationary points. Moreover, we argue that the concept of perpetual points may be useful in tracing unexpected attractors (hidden or rare attractors with small basins of attraction). We show potential applicability of this approach by analyzing several representative systems of physical significance, including the damped oscillator, pendula, and the Henon map. We suggest that perpetual points may be a useful tool for localizing coexisting attractors in dynamical systems.

Vibration of a spatial elastica constrained inside a straight tube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Jen-San; Fang, Joyce

2014-04-01

In this paper we study the dynamic behavior of a clamped-clamped spatial elastica under edge thrust constrained inside a straight cylindrical tube. Attention is focused on the calculation of the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the planar and spatial one-point-contact deformations. The main issue in determining the natural frequencies of a constrained rod is the movement of the contact point during vibration. In order to capture the physical essence of the contact-point movement, an Eulerian description of the equations of motion based on director theory is formulated. After proper linearization of the equations of motion, boundary conditions, and contact conditions, the natural frequencies and mode shapes of the elastica can be obtained by solving a system of eighteen first-order differential equations with shooting method. It is concluded that the planar one-point-contact deformation becomes unstable and evolves to a spatial deformation at a bifurcation point in both displacement and force control procedures.

Mind the gap: a flow instability controlled by particle-surface distance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Driscoll, Michelle; Delmotte, Blaise; Youssef, Mena; Sacanna, Stefano; Donev, Aleksandar; Chaikin, Paul

2016-11-01

Does a rotating particle always spin in place? Not if that particle is near a surface: rolling leads to translational motion, as well as very strong flows around the particle, even quite far away. These large advective flows strongly couple the motion of neighboring particles, giving rise to strong collective effects in groups of rolling particles. Using a model experimental system, weakly magnetic colloids driven by a rotating magnetic field, we observe that driving a compact group of microrollers leads to a new kind of flow instability. First, an initially uniformly-distributed strip of particles evolves into a shock structure, and then it becomes unstable, emitting fingers with a well-defined wavelength. Using 3D large-scale simulations in tandem with our experiments, we find that the instability wavelength is controlled not by the driving torque or the fluid viscosity, but a geometric parameter: the microroller's distance above the container floor. Furthermore, we find that the instability dynamics can be reproduced using only one ingredient: hydrodynamic interactions near a no-slip boundary.

Triangular Libration Points in the CR3BP with Radiation, Triaxiality and Potential from a Belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Jagadish; Taura, Joel John

2017-07-01

In this paper the equations of motion of the circular restricted three body problem is modified to include radiation of the bigger primary, triaxiality of the smaller primary; and gravitational potential created by a belt. We have obtained that due to the perturbations, the locations of the triangular libration points and their linear stability are affected. The points move towards the bigger primary due to the resultant effect of the perturbations. Triangular libration points are stable for 0<μ<μc0<μ<μc and unstable for μc≤μ≤12μc≤μ≤12, where μcμc is the critical mass ratio affected by the perturbations. The radiation of the bigger primary and triaxiality of the smaller primary have destabilizing propensities, whereas the potential created by the belt has stabilizing propensity. This model could be applied in the study of the motion of a dust particle near radiating -triaxial binary system surrounded by a belt.

Dynamics of Two Point Vortices in an External Compressible Shear Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vetchanin, Evgeny V.; Mamaev, Ivan S.

2017-12-01

This paper is concerned with a system of equations that describes the motion of two point vortices in a flow possessing constant uniform vorticity and perturbed by an acoustic wave. The system is shown to have both regular and chaotic regimes of motion. In addition, simple and chaotic attractors are found in the system. Attention is given to bifurcations of fixed points of a Poincaré map which lead to the appearance of these regimes. It is shown that, in the case where the total vortex strength changes, the "reversible pitch-fork" bifurcation is a typical scenario of emergence of asymptotically stable fixed and periodic points. As a result of this bifurcation, a saddle point, a stable and an unstable point of the same period emerge from an elliptic point of some period. By constructing and analyzing charts of dynamical regimes and bifurcation diagrams we show that a cascade of period-doubling bifurcations is a typical scenario of transition to chaos in the system under consideration.

Scaling laws and accurate small-amplitude stationary solution for the motion of a planar vortex filament in the Cartesian form of the local induction approximation.

PubMed

Van Gorder, Robert A

2013-04-01

We provide a formulation of the local induction approximation (LIA) for the motion of a vortex filament in the Cartesian reference frame (the extrinsic coordinate system) which allows for scaling of the reference coordinate. For general monotone scalings of the reference coordinate, we derive an equation for the planar solution to the derivative nonlinear Schrödinger equation governing the LIA. We proceed to solve this equation perturbatively in small amplitude through an application of multiple-scales analysis, which allows for accurate computation of the period of the planar vortex filament. The perturbation result is shown to agree strongly with numerical simulations, and we also relate this solution back to the solution obtained in the arclength reference frame (the intrinsic coordinate system). Finally, we discuss nonmonotone coordinate scalings and their application for finding self-intersections of vortex filaments. These self-intersecting vortex filaments are likely unstable and collapse into other structures or dissipate completely.

Completing the mechanical energy pathways in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection.

PubMed

Gayen, Bishakhdatta; Hughes, Graham O; Griffiths, Ross W

2013-09-20

A new, more complete view of the mechanical energy budget for Rayleigh-Bénard convection is developed and examined using three-dimensional numerical simulations at large Rayleigh numbers and Prandtl number of 1. The driving role of available potential energy is highlighted. The relative magnitudes of different energy conversions or pathways change significantly over the range of Rayleigh numbers Ra ~ 10(7)-10(13). At Ra < 10(7) small-scale turbulent motions are energized directly from available potential energy via turbulent buoyancy flux and kinetic energy is dissipated at comparable rates by both the large- and small-scale motions. In contrast, at Ra ≥ 10(10) most of the available potential energy goes into kinetic energy of the large-scale flow, which undergoes shear instabilities that sustain small-scale turbulence. The irreversible mixing is largely confined to the unstable boundary layer, its rate exactly equal to the generation of available potential energy by the boundary fluxes, and mixing efficiency is 50%.

Optical instabilities and spontaneous light emission in moving media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silveirinha, Mario

2015-03-01

We show that when an uncharged plasmonic material is set in relative motion with respect to another uncharged polarizable body the system may be electromagnetically unstable. Particularly, when the relative velocity of the two bodies is enforced to remain constant the system may support natural oscillations that grow exponentially with time, even in presence of realistic material loss and dispersion. It is proven that a friction-type force acts on the moving bodies to oppose their relative motion. Hence, the optical instabilities result from the conversion of kinetic energy into electromagnetic energy. This new purely classical phenomenon is analogous to the Cherenkov and Smith-Purcell effects but for uncharged polarizable matter. We link the optical instabilities to a spontaneous parity-time symmetry breaking of the system, and demonstrate the possibility of optical amplification of a light pulse in the broken parity-time symmetry regime. This work is supported in part by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia Grant Number PTDC/EEI-TEL/2764/2012.

Transition of unsteady velocity profiles with reverse flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Debopam; Arakeri, Jaywant H.

1998-11-01

This paper deals with the stability and transition to turbulence of wall-bounded unsteady velocity profiles with reverse flow. Such flows occur, for example, during unsteady boundary layer separation and in oscillating pipe flow. The main focus is on results from experiments in time-developing flow in a long pipe, which is decelerated rapidly. The flow is generated by the controlled motion of a piston. We obtain analytical solutions for laminar flow in the pipe and in a two-dimensional channel for arbitrary piston motions. By changing the piston speed and the length of piston travel we cover a range of values of Reynolds number and boundary layer thickness. The velocity profiles during the decay of the flow are unsteady with reverse flow near the wall, and are highly unstable due to their inflectional nature. In the pipe, we observe from flow visualization that the flow becomes unstable with the formation of what appears to be a helical vortex. The wavelength of the instability [simeq R: similar, equals]3[delta] where [delta] is the average boundary layer thickness, the average being taken over the time the flow is unstable. The time of formation of the vortices scales with the average convective time scale and is [simeq R: similar, equals]39/([Delta]u/[delta]), where [Delta]u=(umax[minus sign]umin) and umax, umin and [delta] are the maximum velocity, minimum velocity and boundary layer thickness respectively at each instant of time. The time to transition to turbulence is [simeq R: similar, equals]33/([Delta]u/[delta]). Quasi-steady linear stability analysis of the velocity profiles brings out two important results. First that the stability characteristics of velocity profiles with reverse flow near the wall collapse when scaled with the above variables. Second that the wavenumber corresponding to maximum growth does not change much during the instability even though the velocity profile does change substantially. Using the results from the experiments and the stability analysis, we are able to explain many aspects of transition in oscillating pipe flow. We postulate that unsteady boundary layer separation at high Reynolds numbers is probably related to instability of the reverse flow region.

MONITORING OF LARGE INSTABLE AREAS: system reliability and new tools.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leandro, G.; Mucciarelli, M.; Pellicani, R.; Spilotro, G.

2009-04-01

The monitoring of unstable or potentially unstable areas is a necessary operation every time you can not remove the conditions of risk and apply to mitigation measures. In Italian Apennine regions there are many urban or extra-urban areas affected by instability, for which it is impracticable to remove hazard conditions, because of size and cost problems. The technological evolution exportable to the field of land instability monitoring is particularly lively and allows the use of warning systems unthinkable just few years ago. However, the monitoring of unstable or potentially unstable areas requires a very great knowledge of the specific problems, without which the reliability of the system may be dangerously overestimated. The movement may arise, indeed, in areas not covered by instrumentation, or covered with vegetation that prevents the acquisition of both reflected signals in the multi-beam laser techniques and radar signals. Environmental conditions (wind, concentrated sources of light, temperature changes, presence of animals) may also invalidate the accuracy of the measures, by introducing modulations or disturbance at a level well above the threshold of alarm signal, leading consequently to raise the values of the warning threshold. The Authors have gained long experience with the observation and monitoring of some large landslides in the Southern Apennine (Aliano, Buoninventre, Calciano, Carlantino, etc.) and unstable areas also at regional scale. One of the most important experiences is about the case of landslides of extensive areas, where unstable and stables zones coexist along transverse and longitudinal axis. In many of these cases you need the accurate control of the movement at selected points to evaluate the trend of displacement velocity, which can be achieved by means of a single-beam laser. The control of these movements, however, does not provide information on stress pattern into the stable areas. Among the sensitive precursors, acoustic emission (AE) measurement has constituted for decades a monitoring system able to define precisely, in presence of a favourable geometry, the micro-cracks pattern, describing both propagation of cracks and formation of failure surfaces. In stiff materials the deformations are associated to micro distortions or micro failures, with release of vibrational energy in the acoustic range of the frequencies. Therefore, the survey of such precursors can result extremely profitable to the goals of an early recognition of the evolution of stress states towards the failure. For this reason, the survey of AE in geological materials, besides monitoring and forecast of landslide movements, has revealed very useful in other fields, as the safety auscultation of the mines, the stability of underground deposits of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons and radioactive cinders, and the forecast of avalanches. The studies in literature, especially in the mining field, have underlined that the typical emission is in the low frequencies range, where waves suffer a limited attenuation in the propagation through the rocks. The generation of micro-fractures is, on the other hand, accompanied by acoustic emission at higher frequencies. The Authors in the last years have experienced the possibility of acoustic emission measurement, finally coming to the design and construction of a simple mono-channel device. This device is unable to determine the location of the spreading point of new failures, which is possible only with more than three channels devices. A mono-channel device can realize: a - recognition of the phenomenon (definition of AE frequency range of rock mass under examination, characteristic ampleness), b - recognition of the physiological activity (number of issues in time), c - enucleation of the remarkable noises from those physiological or occasional produced outside. The third point is realized through the transformation of sampled noise in FFT, for which is easier to define a threshold, after an appropriate period of learning, which allows to configure the system as an expert system. The selection of in situ signals allows the use of very short transmission reports, simply consisting in outside threshold events into the time range, usually chosen as 1 hour. The monitoring of AE is currently in progress in numerous landslide sites in Southern Italy. The longest recording is performed in the Aliano landslide site, were still today part of the landslide body translates at the velocity of 0.5 mm per day. In the Aliano site, part of the recordings has been contextual to a notable mobilization of the landslide, so that has been possible to compare the released acoustic emission with the recordings of the surface movements. Data analysis revealed that the first significant acoustic activity preceded mass movements of almost 24 hours. The good performance confirm the potentiality of the AE monitoring to retrieve early elements discriminated by the wave type, form and intensity, which can be well correlated to the beginning of the rupture of an unstable soil mass, time before the same moves. The technique of measurement is not affected by typical problems of optical measures, it is not subjected to reflection of surface EM signal and can be integrated into the new generation monitoring systems.

Grain growth behavior at absolute zero during nanocrystalline metal indentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sansoz, F.; Dupont, V.

2006-09-01

The authors show using atomistic simulations that stress-driven grain growth can be obtained in the athermal limit during nanocrystalline aluminum indentation. They find that the grain growth results from rotation of nanograins and propagation of shear bands. Together, these mechanisms are shown to lead to the unstable migration of grain boundaries via process of coupled motion. An analytical model is used to explain this behavior based on the atomic-level shear stress acting on the interfaces during the shear band propagation. This study sheds light on the atomic mechanism at play during the abnormal grain coarsening observed at low temperature in nanocrystalline metals.

Decay of Kadomtsev-Petviashvili lumps in dissipative media

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clarke, S.; Gorshkov, K.; Grimshaw, R.; Stepanyants, Y.

2018-03-01

The decay of Kadomtsev-Petviashvili lumps is considered for a few typical dissipations-Rayleigh dissipation, Reynolds dissipation, Landau damping, Chezy bottom friction, viscous dissipation in the laminar boundary layer, and radiative losses caused by large-scale dispersion. It is shown that the straight-line motion of lumps is unstable under the influence of dissipation. The lump trajectories are calculated for two most typical models of dissipation-the Rayleigh and Reynolds dissipations. A comparison of analytical results obtained within the framework of asymptotic theory with the direct numerical calculations of the Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation is presented. Good agreement between the theoretical and numerical results is obtained.

Phase separation in the t-J model. [in theory of high-temperature superconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Emery, V. J.; Lin, H. Q.; Kivelson, S. A.

1990-01-01

A detailed understanding of the motion of 'holes' in an antiferromagnet is of fundamental importance for the theory of high-temperature superconductors. It is shown here that, for the t-J model, dilute holes in an antiferromagnet are unstable against phase separation into a hole-rich and a no-hole phase. When the spin-exchange interaction J exceeds a critical value Jc, the hole-rich phase has no electrons. It is proposed that, for J slightly less than Jc, the hole-rich phase is a low-density superfluid of electron pairs. Phase separation in related models is briefly discussed.

The eastern front of the Sierra Nevada; prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruption

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rinehart, C.D.; Smith, W.C.

1981-01-01

On Sunday morning, May 25, 1980, the weather at Mammoth Lakes, Calif., was sunny and brisk. Suddenly, just before 9:33 a.m, the world became a jarring, lurching, unstable place. Along the front of the Sierra Nevada, the muffled thunder of rockfalls and avalanches prolonged the confusion of sound and motion and added the spectacle of large, rising dust clouds. Three geysers, one 30 ft high, suddenly roared into the air at Hot Creek, although none survived more than a few hours. Some new boiling pools appeared, while many existing hot springs and pools became hotter and more active. 

High speed, precision motion strategies for lightweight structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Book, Wayne J.

1989-01-01

Research on space telerobotics is summarized. Adaptive control experiments on the Robotic Arm, Large and Flexible (RALF) were preformed and are documented, along with a joint controller design for the Small Articulated Manipulator (SAM), which is mounted on the RALF. A control algorithm is described as a robust decentralized adaptive control based on a bounded uncertainty approach. Dynamic interactions between SAM and RALF are examined. Unstability of the manipulator is studied from the perspective that the inertial forces generated could actually be used to more rapidly damp out the flexible manipulator's vibration. Currently being studied is the modeling of the constrained dynamics of flexible arms.

An extended lattice model accounting for traffic jerk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redhu, Poonam; Siwach, Vikash

2018-02-01

In this paper, a flux difference lattice hydrodynamics model is extended by considering the traffic jerk effect which comes due to vehicular motion of non-motor automobiles. The effect of traffic jerk has been examined through linear stability analysis and shown that it can significantly enlarge the unstable region on the phase diagram. To describe the phase transition of traffic flow, mKdV equation near the critical point is derived through nonlinear stability analysis. The theoretical findings have been verified using numerical simulation which confirms that the jerk parameter plays an important role in stabilizing the traffic jam efficiently in sensing the flux difference of leading sites.

Plasma inhomogeneities near the electrodes of a capacitively-coupled radio-frequency discharge containing dust particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tawidian, H.; Mikikian, M.; Couëdel, L.; Lecas, T.

2011-11-01

Small plasma spheroids are evidenced and analyzed in front of the electrodes of a capacitively-coupled radio-frequency discharge in which dust particles are growing. These regions are characterized by a spherical shape, a slightly enhanced luminosity and are related to instabilities induced by the presence of dust particles. Several types of behaviors are identified and particularly their chaotic appearance or disappearance and their rotational motion along the electrode periphery. Correlations with the unstable behavior of the global plasma glow are performed. These analyses are obtained thanks to high-speed imaging which is the only diagnostics able to evidence these plasma spheroids.

Analysis of Balance Ability Dependent on the Angle of the Knee Joint in Females in Their 20s

PubMed Central

Yoon, Se-Won; Lee, Jeong-Woo; Cho, Woon-Su; Kim, An-Na; Lee, Kyung-Hee

2013-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate how balance ability according to angle of the knee joint changes in young female adults wearing a knee orthosis. [Methods] This study was conducted with 11 healthy female adults. The subjects used a knee brace that could be set to angles of 0°, 15°, and 30° of knee flexion. The ability to balance was evaluated by balance assessment. A total of four postures were used for measurements: a forward-facing posture with the eyes open on a stable surface (NO), a forward-facing posture with the eyes closed on a stable surface (NC), a forward-facing posture with the eyes open on an unstable surface (PO), and a forward-facing posture with the eyes closed on an unstable surface (PC). [Results] Regarding the weight distribution index and stability index on a stable surface, there was no interaction according to whether there was visual deprivation or not or according to knee flexion angle. Furthermore, the stability index on an unstable surface showed no interaction according to whether there was visual deprivation or not or according to knee flexion angle. But the WDI on a stable surface showed no interaction according to whether there was visual deprivation or not or according to knee flexion angle. [Conclusion] There were significant differences in the knee extension range of motion of normal elderly people and knee osteoarthritis, and the quadriceps femoris played an important role in knee function in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. PMID:24259902

Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology position stand: The use of instability to train the core in athletic and nonathletic conditioning.

PubMed

Behm, David G; Drinkwater, Eric J; Willardson, Jeffrey M; Cowley, Patrick M

2010-02-01

The use of instability devices and exercises to train the core musculature is an essential feature of many training centres and programs. It was the intent of this position stand to provide recommendations regarding the role of instability in resistance training programs designed to train the core musculature. The core is defined as the axial skeleton and all soft tissues with a proximal attachment originating on the axial skeleton, regardless of whether the soft tissue terminates on the axial or appendicular skeleton. Core stability can be achieved with a combination of muscle activation and intra-abdominal pressure. Abdominal bracing has been shown to be more effective than abdominal hollowing in optimizing spinal stability. When similar exercises are performed, core and limb muscle activation are reported to be higher under unstable conditions than under stable conditions. However, core muscle activation that is similar to or higher than that achieved in unstable conditions can also be achieved with ground-based free-weight exercises, such as Olympic lifts, squats, and dead lifts. Since the addition of unstable bases to resistance exercises can decrease force, power, velocity, and range of motion, they are not recommended as the primary training mode for athletic conditioning. However, the high muscle activation with the use of lower loads associated with instability resistance training suggests they can play an important role within a periodized training schedule, in rehabilitation programs, and for nonathletic individuals who prefer not to use ground-based free weights to achieve musculoskeletal health benefits.

Sources of seismic events in the cooling lava lake of Kilauea Iki, Hawaii

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chouet, B.

1979-05-10

Seismic surveys conducted in recent years revealed a suprisingly high and sustained activity of local seismic events originating in the partially frozen lava lake of Kilauea Iki crater, Hawaii. About 8000 events per day were counted in 1976 at the center of the lake with a seismograph having a peak magnification of 280,000 at 60 Hz. The activity was found to be uniform over the whole area above the inferred magma lens and very weak in the periphery of the lake. The frequency-amplitude relation for these shocks obeys the Ishimoto-Iida or Gutenberg-Richter law very well, with a b value ofmore » 1.19( +- 0.06). Locations of a few selected events indicate that they occur both above and below the layer of melt, although the seismic activity appears to be much higher in the upper crust. Whenever clear, the first motion is always outward from the source, suggesting that a crack opening under tensile stress owing to cooling is the responsible source mechanism. A simple model of a circular tensile crack nucleating at a point and growing at subsonic velocity can match the far-field P wave from these sources fairly well. Typical parameters for a large event inferred from the model are the following: radius, 2.7 m; maximum static tensile displacement between crack faces, 2.9..mu..; cavity volume, 4.4 x 10/sup -5/ m/sup 3/; and a seismic moment tensor with diagonal elements only, having the values 3.8 x 10/sup 2/exclamation2, 4.5 x 10/sup 12/, and 3.8 x 10/sup 12/ dyn cm. The magnitude of the event is about -1, and its stress drop is of the order of 0.01 bar. A Q as low as 10 is required to satisfy the shape of the observed wave forms. The total cavity volume integrated over all cracks which is generated daily in the upper crust of Kilauea Iki is of the order of 1--20 m/sup 3/. An alternate interpretation of the data, the seismic activity as reflecting the extension by up to several tens of centimeters of long existing cracks rather than the formation of new cracks.« less

Mitigating crack propagation in a highly maneuverable flight vehicle using life extending control logic

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elshabasy, Mohamed Mostafa Yousef Bassyouny

In this research, life extending control logic is proposed to reduce the cost of treating the aging problem of military aircraft structures and to avoid catastrophic failures and fatal accidents due to undetected cracks in the airframe components. The life extending control logic is based on load tailoring to facilitate a desired stress sequence that prolongs the structural life of the cracked airframe components by exploiting certain nonlinear crack retardation phenomena. The load is tailored to include infrequent injections of a single-cycle overload or a single-cycle overload and underload. These irregular loadings have an anti-intuitive but beneficial effect, which has been experimentally validated, on the extension of the operational structural life of the aircraft. A rigid six-degree-of freedom dynamic model of a highly maneuverable air vehicle coupled with an elastic dynamic wing model is used to generate the stress history at the lower skin of the wing. A three-dimensional equivalent plate finite element model is used to calculate the stress in the cracked skin. The plate is chosen to be of uniform chord-wise and span-wise thickness where the mechanical properties are assigned using an ad-hoc approach to mimic the full scale wing model. An in-extensional 3-node triangular element is used as the gridding finite element while the aerodynamic load is calculated using the vortex-lattice method where each lattice is laid upon two triangular finite elements with common hypotenuse. The aerodynamic loads, along with the base-excitation which is due to the motion of the rigid aircraft model, are the driving forces acting on the wing finite element model. An aerodynamic control surface is modulated based on the proposed life extending control logic within an existing flight control system without requiring major modification. One of the main goals of life extending control logic is to enhance the aircraft's service life, without incurring significant loss of vehicle dynamic performance. The value of the control-surface deflection angle is modulated so that the created overstress is sufficiently below the yield stress of the panel material. The results show that extension in crack length was reduced by 40% to 75% with an absence of damage mitigation logic. Moreover, the desired structural integrity is satisfied without affecting the air vehicle dynamic performance.

Determine Optimal Stimulus Amplitude for Using Vestibular Stochastic Stimulation to Improve Balance Function

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goel, R.; Kofman, I.; DeDios, Y. E.; Jeevarajan, J.; Stepanyan, V.; Nair, M.; Congdon, S.; Fregia, M.; Cohen, H.; Bloomberg, J.J.;

Materials processing in a centrifuge - Numerical modeling of macrogravity effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ramachandran, N.; Downey, J. P.; Jones, J. C.; Curreri, P. A.

1992-01-01

The fluid mechanics associated with crystal growth processes on a centrifuge is investigated. A simple scaling analysis is used to examine the relative magnitudes of the forces acting on the system and good agreement is obtained with previous studies. A two-dimensional model of crystal growth on a centrifuge is proposed and calculations are undertaken to help in understanding the fundamental transport processes within the crystal growth cell. Results from three-dimensional calculations of actual centrifuge-based crystal growth systems are presented both for the thermodynamically stable and unstable configurations. The calculations show the existence of flow bifurcations in certain configurations but not in all instances. The numerical simulations also show that the centrifugal force is the dominant stabilizing force on fluid convection in the stable configuration. The stabilizing influence of the Coriolis force is found to be only secondary in nature. No significant impact of gravity gradient is found in the calculations. Simulations of unstable configurations show that the Coriolis force has a stabilizing influence on fluid motion by delaying the onset of unsteady convection. Detailed flow and thermal field characteristics are presented for all the different cases that are simulated.

San Andreas-sized Strike-slip Fault on Europa

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

This mosaic of the south polar region of Jupiter's moon Europa shows the northern 290 kilometers (180 miles) of a strike-slip fault named Astypalaea Linea. The entire fault is about 810 kilometers (500 miles) long, about the size of the California portion of the San Andreas fault, which runs from the California-Mexico border north to the San Francisco Bay.

In a strike-slip fault, two crustal blocks move horizontally past one another, similar to two opposing lanes of traffic. Overall motion along the fault seems to have followed a continuous narrow crack along the feature's entire length, with a path resembling steps on a staircase crossing zones that have been pulled apart. The images show that about 50 kilometers (30 miles) of displacement have taken place along the fault. The fault's opposite sides can be reconstructed like a puzzle, matching the shape of the sides and older, individual cracks and ridges broken by its movements.

[figure removed for brevity, see original site]

The red line marks the once active central crack of the fault. The black line outlines the fault zone, including material accumulated in the regions which have been pulled apart.

Bends in the fault have allowed the surface to be pulled apart. This process created openings through which warmer, softer ice from below Europa's brittle ice shell surface, or frozen water from a possible subsurface ocean, could reach the surface. This upwelling of material formed large areas of new ice within the boundaries of the original fault. A similar pulling-apart phenomenon can be observed in the geological trough surrounding California's Salton Sea, in Death Valley and the Dead Sea. In those cases, the pulled-apart regions can include upwelled materials, but may be filled mostly by sedimentary and eroded material from above.

One theory is that fault motion on Europa is induced by the pull of variable daily tides generated by Jupiter's gravitational tug on Europa. Tidal tension opens the fault and subsequent tidal stress causes it to move lengthwise in one direction. Then tidal forces close the fault again, preventing the area from moving back to its original position. Daily tidal cycles produce a steady accumulation of lengthwise offset motions. Here on Earth, unlike Europa, large strike-slip faults like the San Andreas are set in motion by plate tectonic forces.

North is to the top of the picture and the sun illuminates the surface from the top. The image, centered at 66 degrees south latitude and 195 degrees west longitude, covers an area approximately 300 by 203 kilometers(185 by 125 miles). The pictures were taken on September 26, 1998by Galileo's solid-state imaging system.

This image and other images and data received from Galileo are posted on the World Wide Web, on the Galileo mission home page at URL http://galileo.jpl.nasa.gov. Background information and educational context for the images can be found at URL http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/sepo

The Universal Role of Tubulence in the Propagation of Strong Shocks and Detonation Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, John H.

2001-06-01

The passage of a strong shock wave usually results in irreversible physical and chemical changes in the medium. If the chemical reactions are sufficiently exothermic, the shock wave can be self-propagating, i.e., sustained by the chemical energy release via the expansion work of the reaction products. Although shocks and detonations can be globally stable and propagate at constant velocities (in the direction of motion), their structure may be highly unstable and exhibit large hydrodynamic fluctuations, i.e., turbulence. Recent investigations on plastic deformation of polycrystalline material behind shock waves have revealed particle velocity dispersion at the mesoscopic level, a result of vortical rotational motion similar to that of turbulent fluid flows at high Reynolds number.1 Strong ionizing shocks in noble gases2, as well as dissociating shock waves in carbon dioxide,3 also demonstrate a turbulent density fluctuation in the non-equilibrium shock transition zone. Perhaps the most thoroughly investigated unstable structure is that of detonation waves in gaseous explosives.4 Detonation waves in liquid explosives such as nitromethane also take on similar unstable structure as gaseous detonations.5 There are also indications that detonations in solid explosives have a similar unsteady structure under certain conditions. Thus, it appears that it is more of a rule than an exception that the structure of strong shocks and detonations are unstable and exhibit turbulent-like fluctuations as improved diagnostics now permit us to look more closely at the meso- and micro-levels. Increasing attention is now devoted to the understanding of the shock waves at the micro-scale level in recent years. This is motivated by the need to formulate physical and chemical models that contain the correct physics capable of describing quantitatively the shock transition process. It should be noted that, in spite of its unstable 3-D structure, the steady 1-D conservation laws (in the direction of propagation) apply across the shock transition zone if the downstream equilibrium plane is taken far enough away to ensure the decay of the turbulent fluctuations. Thus, the Hugoniot properties of one-dimensional propagation of shock and detonation waves remain valid. However, the conservation laws do not describe the important propagation mechanisms (i.e., the physical and chemical processes that effect the transition from initial to the final state) in the wave structure. Since gaseous detonations enjoy the advantage of being able to be observed experimentally in great detail, its complex turbulent structure is now quite well established. Furthermore, the equation of state for perfect gases is well known and the chemistry of most gas phase reactions is also sufficiently understood quantitatively to permit detailed numerical simulation of the complex detonation structure. Thus, a good database of information exists for gaseous detonation, and in this paper we shall explore the turbulent structure of gaseous detonation with the aim of answering the question as to "why nature prefers to evoke such a complicated manner to effect its propagation." We will then attempt to generalize the discussion to the "terra incognita" of condensed phase materials where the structure is much less understood. 1. Meshcheryakov, Yu.I., and Atroshenko, S.A., Izv. Vyssh. Uchebn. Zaved. Fiz., 4, 105-123 (1992). 2. Glass, I.I, and Liu, W.S., J. Fluid Mech., 84(1), 55-77 (1978). 3. Griffiths, R.W., Sanderman, R.J., and Hornung, H.G., J. Phys. D., 8, 1681-1691 (1975). 4. Lee, J.H.S., Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech., 16, 311-336 (1984). 5. Mallory, H.D., J. Appl. Physics, 38, 5302-5306 (1967).

Design of the stabilizing control of the orbital motion in the vicinity of the collinear libration point L1 using the analytical representation of the invariant manifold

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maliavkin, G. P.; Shmyrov, A. S.; Shmyrov, V. A.

2018-05-01

Vicinities of collinear libration points of the Sun-Earth system are currently quite attractive for the space navigation. Today, various projects on placing of spacecrafts observing the Sun in the L1 libration point and telescopes in L2 have been implemented (e.g. spacecrafts "WIND", "SOHO", "Herschel", "Planck"). Collinear libration points being unstable leads to the problem of stabilization of a spacecraft's motion. Laws of stabilizing motion control in vicinity of L1 point can be constructed using the analytical representation of a stable invariant manifold. Efficiency of these control laws depends on the precision of the representation. Within the model of Hill's approximation of the circular restricted three-body problem in the rotating geocentric coordinate system one can obtain the analytical representation of an invariant manifold filled with bounded trajectories in a form of series in terms of powers of the phase variables. Approximate representations of the orders from the first to the fourth inclusive can be used to construct four laws of stabilizing feedback motion control under which trajectories approach the manifold. By virtue of numerical simulation the comparison can be made: how the precision of the representation of the invariant manifold influences the efficiency of the control, expressed by energy consumptions (characteristic velocity). It shows that using approximations of higher orders in constructing the control laws can significantly reduce the energy consumptions on implementing the control compared to the linear approximation.

Lunar Navigation with Libration Point Orbiters and GPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carpenter, J. Russell

2004-01-01

NASA is currently studying a Vision for Space Exploration based on spiral development of robotic and piloted missions to the moon and Mars, but research into how to perform such missions has continued ever since the first era of lunar exploration. One area of study that a number of researchers have pursued is libration point navigation and communication relay concepts. These concepts would appear to support many of NASA's current requirements for navigation and communications coverage for human and robotic spacecraft operating in lunar space and beyond. In trading libration point concepts against other options, designers must consider issues such as the number of spacecraft, required to provide coverage, insertion and stationkeeping costs, power and data rate requirements, frequency allocations, and many others. The libration points, along with a typical cis-lunar trajectory, are equilibrium locations for an infinitesimal mass in the rotating coordinate system that follows the motion of two massive bodies in circular orbits with respect to their common barycenter. There are three co-linear points along the line connecting the massive bodies: between the bodies, beyond the secondary body, and beyond the primary body. The relative distances of these points along the line connecting the bodies depend on the mass ratios. There are also two points that form equilateral triangles with the massive bodies. Ideally, motion in the neighborhood of the co-linear points is unstable, while motion near the equilibrium points is stable. However, in the real world, the motions are highly perturbed so that a satellite will require stationkeeping maneuvers.

Icefall, Lambert Glacier, Antarctica

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

Image taken 12/2/2000: The Lambert Glacier in Antarctica, is the world's largest glacier. The focal point of this image is an icefall that feeds into the Lambert glacier from the vast ice sheet covering the polar plateau. Ice flows like water, albeit much more slowly. Cracks can be seen in this icefall as it bends and twists on its slow-motion descent 1300 feet (400 meters) to the glacier below. This Icefall can be found on Landsat 7 WRS Path 42 Row 133/134/135, center: -70.92, 69.15. To learn more about the Landsat satellite go to: landsat.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Optical Kapitza pendulum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, Philip H.; Smart, Thomas J.; Richards, Christopher J.; Cubero, David

2016-09-01

The Kapitza pendulum is the paradigm for the phenomenon of dynamical stabilization, whereby an otherwise unstable system achieves a stability that is induced by fast modulation of a control parameter. In the classic, macroscopic Kapitza pendulum, a rigid pendulum is stabilized in the upright, inverted pendulum using a particle confined in a ring-shaped optical trap, subject to a drag force via fluid flow and driven via oscillating the potential in a direction parallel to the fluid flow. In the regime of vanishing Reynold's number with high-frequency driving the inverted pendulum is no longer stable, but new equilibrium positions appear that depend on the amplitude of driving. As the driving frequency is decreased a yet different behavior emerges where stability of the pendulum depends also on the details of the pendulum hydrodynamics. We present a theory for the observed induced stability of the overdamped pendulum based on the separation of timescales in the pendulum motion as formulated by Kapitza, but with the addition of a viscous drag. Excellent agreement is found between the predicted behavior from the analytical theory and the experimental results across the range of pendulum driving frequencies. We complement these results with Brownian motion simulations, and we characterize the stabilized pendulum by both time- and frequency-domain analyses of the pendulum Brownian motion.

Dynamics of Variable Mass Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eke, Fidelis O.

1998-01-01

This report presents the results of an investigation of the effects of mass loss on the attitude behavior of spinning bodies in flight. The principal goal is to determine whether there are circumstances under which the motion of variable mass systems can become unstable in the sense that their transverse angular velocities become unbounded. Obviously, results from a study of this kind would find immediate application in the aerospace field. The first part of this study features a complete and mathematically rigorous derivation of a set of equations that govern both the translational and rotational motions of general variable mass systems. The remainder of the study is then devoted to the application of the equations obtained to a systematic investigation of the effect of various mass loss scenarios on the dynamics of increasingly complex models of variable mass systems. It is found that mass loss can have a major impact on the dynamics of mechanical systems, including a possible change in the systems stability picture. Factors such as nozzle geometry, combustion chamber geometry, propellant's initial shape, size and relative mass, and propellant location can all have important influences on the system's dynamic behavior. The relative importance of these parameters on-system motion are quantified in a way that is useful for design purposes.

Extension of Liouville Formalism to Postinstability Dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zak, Michail

2003-01-01

A mathematical formalism has been developed for predicting the postinstability motions of a dynamic system governed by a system of nonlinear equations and subject to initial conditions. Previously, there was no general method for prediction and mathematical modeling of postinstability behaviors (e.g., chaos and turbulence) in such a system. The formalism of nonlinear dynamics does not afford means to discriminate between stable and unstable motions: an additional stability analysis is necessary for such discrimination. However, an additional stability analysis does not suggest any modifications of a mathematical model that would enable the model to describe postinstability motions efficiently. The most important type of instability that necessitates a postinstability description is associated with positive Lyapunov exponents. Such an instability leads to exponential growth of small errors in initial conditions or, equivalently, exponential divergence of neighboring trajectories. The development of the present formalism was undertaken in an effort to remove positive Lyapunov exponents. The means chosen to accomplish this is coupling of the governing dynamical equations with the corresponding Liouville equation that describes the evolution of the flow of error probability. The underlying idea is to suppress the divergences of different trajectories that correspond to different initial conditions, without affecting a target trajectory, which is one that starts with prescribed initial conditions.

Roll-Yaw control at high angle of attack by forebody tangential blowing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pedreiro, N.; Rock, S. M.; Celik, Z. Z.; Roberts, L.

1995-01-01

The feasibility of using forebody tangential blowing to control the roll-yaw motion of a wind tunnel model is experimentally demonstrated. An unsteady model of the aerodynamics is developed based on the fundamental physics of the flow. Data from dynamic experiments is used to validate the aerodynamic model. A unique apparatus is designed and built that allows the wind tunnel model two degrees of freedom, roll and yaw. Dynamic experiments conducted at 45 degrees angle of attack reveal the system to be unstable. The natural motion is divergent. The aerodynamic model is incorporated into the equations of motion of the system and used for the design of closed loop control laws that make the system stable. These laws are proven through dynamic experiments in the wind tunnel using blowing as the only actuator. It is shown that asymmetric blowing is a highly non-linear effector that can be linearized by superimposing symmetric blowing. The effects of forebody tangential blowing and roll and yaw angles on the flow structure are determined through flow visualization experiments. The transient response of roll and yaw moments to a step input blowing are determined. Differences on the roll and yaw moment dependence on blowing are explained based on the physics of the phenomena.

Roll-yaw control at high angle of attack by forebody tangential blowing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pedreiro, N.; Rock, S. M.; Celik, Z. Z.; Roberts, L.

1995-01-01

The feasibility of using forebody tangential blowing to control the roll-yaw motion of a wind tunnel model is experimentally demonstrated. An unsteady model of the aerodynamics is developed based on the fundamental physics of the flow. Data from dynamic experiments is used to validate the aerodynamic model. A unique apparatus is designed and built that allows the wind tunnel model two degrees of freedom, roll and yaw. Dynamic experiments conducted at 45 degrees angle of attack reveal the system to be unstable. The natural motion is divergent. The aerodynamic model is incorporated into the equations of motion of the system and used for the design of closed loop control laws that make the system stable. These laws are proven through dynamic experiments in the wind tunnel using blowing as the only actuator. It is shown that asymmetric blowing is a highly non-linear effector that can be linearized by superimposing symmetric blowing. The effects of forebody tangential blowing and roll and yaw angles on the flow structure are determined through flow visualization experiments. The transient response of roll and yaw moments to a step input blowing are determined. Differences on the roll and yaw moment dependence on blowing are explained based on the physics of the phenomena.

Viscoelastic fluid-structure interactions between a flexible cylinder and wormlike micelle solution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dey, Anita A.; Modarres-Sadeghi, Yahya; Rothstein, Jonathan P.

2018-06-01

It is well known that when a flexible or flexibly mounted structure is placed perpendicular to the flow of a Newtonian fluid, it can oscillate due to the shedding of separated vortices at high Reynolds numbers. Unlike Newtonian fluids, the flow of viscoelastic fluids can become unstable even at infinitesimal Reynolds numbers due to a purely elastic flow instability that can occur at large Weissenberg numbers. Recent work has shown that these elastic flow instabilities can drive the motion of flexible sheets. The fluctuating fluid forces exerted on the structure from the elastic flow instabilities can lead to a coupling between an oscillatory structural motion and the state of stress in the fluid flow. In this paper, we present the results of an investigation into the flow of a viscoelastic wormlike micelle solution past a flexible circular cylinder. The time variation of the flow field and the state of stress in the fluid are shown using a combination of particle image tracking and flow-induced birefringence images. The static and dynamic responses of the flexible cylinder are presented for a range of flow velocities. The nonlinear dynamics of the structural motion is studied to better understand an observed transition from a symmetric to an asymmetric structural deformation and oscillation behavior.

Computational micromechanics of dynamic compressive loading of a brittle polycrystalline material using a distribution of grain boundary properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kraft, R. H.; Molinari, J. F.; Ramesh, K. T.; Warner, D. H.

A two-dimensional finite element model is used to investigate compressive loading of a brittle ceramic. Intergranular cracking in the microstructure is captured explicitly by using a distribution of cohesive interfaces. The addition of confining stress increases the maximum strength and if high enough, can allow the effective material response to reach large strains before failure. Increasing the friction at the grain boundaries also increases the maximum strength until saturation of the strength is approached. Above a transitional strain rate, increasing the rate-of-deformation also increases the strength and as the strain rate increases, fragment sizes of the damaged specimen decrease. The effects of flaws within the specimen were investigated using a random distribution at various initial flaw densities. The model is able to capture an effective modulus change and degradation of strength as the initial flaw density increases. Effects of confinement, friction, and spatial distribution of flaws seem to depend on the crack coalescence and dilatation of the specimen, while strain-rate effects are result of inertial resistance to motion.

Performance of 2G-HTS REBCO undulator coils impregnated epoxies mixed with different fillers

DOE PAGES

Kesgin, Ibrahim; Hasse, Quentin; Ivanyushenkov, Yury; ...

2016-12-12

The use of second-generation high-temperature superconducting-coated conductors enables an enhancement of the performance of undulator magnets. However, preventing the motion of the wire and providing sufficient conduction cooling to the winding stacks have remained challenges. In this study, we have evaluated epoxy impregnation techniques to address these issues. Epoxy resin was prepared with different nanopowders and the effect on the performance of the undulator coil pack was investigated. All epoxy impregnated coils showed smaller n values and some degree of deterioration of the critical current I c. The I c degradation was most pronounced for epoxy mixed with high aspectmore » ratio multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). It has been found that the crack formation in the epoxy results in plastic deformation of the copper stabilizer layer, which causes the underlying ceramic REBCO superconducting layer to crack resulting in degradation of the superconducting tape performance. As a result, careful adjustment of epoxy thickness surrounding the superconductor and the powder ratio in the epoxy eliminate the performance degradation.« less

High speed imaging for assessment of impact damage in natural fibre biocomposites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramakrishnan, Karthik Ram; Corn, Stephane; Le Moigne, Nicolas; Ienny, Patrick; Leger, Romain; Slangen, Pierre R.

2017-06-01

The use of Digital Image Correlation has been generally limited to the estimation of mechanical properties and fracture behaviour at low to moderate strain rates. High speed cameras dedicated to ballistic testing are often used to measure the initial and residual velocities of the projectile but rarely for damage assessment. The evaluation of impact damage is frequently achieved post-impact using visual inspection, ultrasonic C-scan or other NDI methods. Ultra-high speed cameras and developments in image processing have made possible the measurement of surface deformations and stresses in real time during dynamic cracking. In this paper, a method is presented to correlate the force- displacement data from the sensors to the slow motion tracking of the transient failure cracks using real-time high speed imaging. Natural fibre reinforced composites made of flax fibres and polypropylene matrix was chosen for the study. The creation of macro-cracks during the impact results in the loss of stiffness and a corresponding drop in the force history. However, optical instrumentation shows that the initiation of damage is not always evident and so the assessment of damage requires the use of a local approach. Digital Image Correlation is used to study the strain history of the composite and to identify the initiation and progression of damage. The effect of fly-speckled texture on strain measurement by image correlation is also studied. The developed method can be used for the evaluation of impact damage for different composite materials.

Mixing driven by transient buoyancy flows. I. Kinematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duval, W. M. B.; Zhong, H.; Batur, C.

2018-05-01

Mixing of two miscible liquids juxtaposed inside a cavity initially separated by a divider, whose buoyancy-driven motion is initiated via impulsive perturbation of divider motion that can generate the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability, is investigated experimentally. The measured Lagrangian history of interface motion that contains the continuum mechanics of mixing shows self-similar nearly Gaussian length stretch distribution for a wide range of control parameters encompassing an approximate Hele-Shaw cell to a three-dimensional cavity. Because of the initial configuration of the interface which is parallel to the gravitational field, we show that at critical initial potential energy mixing occurs through the stretching of the interface, which shows frontogenesis, and folding, owing to an overturning motion that results in unstable density stratification and produces an ideal condition for the growth of the single wavelength Rayleigh-Taylor instability. The initial perturbation of the interface and flow field generates the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability and causes kinks at the interface, which grow into deep fingers during overturning motion and unfold into local whorl structures that merge and self-organize into the Rayleigh-Taylor morphology (RTM) structure. For a range of parametric space that yields two-dimensional flows, the unfolding of the instability through a supercritical bifurcation yields an asymmetric pairwise structure exhibiting smooth RTM that transitions to RTM fronts with fractal structures that contain small length scales for increasing Peclet numbers. The late stage of the RTM structure unfolds into an internal breakwave that breaks down through wall and internal collision and sets up the condition for self-induced sloshing that decays exponentially as the two fluids become stably stratified with a diffusive region indicating local molecular diffusion.

Posture, locomotion, spatial orientation, and motion sickness as a function of space flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reschke, M. F.; Bloomberg, J. J.; Harm, D. L.; Paloski, W. H.; Layne, C.; McDonald, V.

1998-01-01

This article summarizes a variety of newly published findings obtained by the Neuroscience Laboratory, Johnson Space Center, and attempts to place this work within a historical framework of previous results on posture, locomotion, motion sickness, and perceptual responses that have been observed in conjunction with space flight. In this context, we have taken the view that correct transduction and integration of signals from all sensory systems is essential to maintaining stable vision, postural and locomotor control, and eye-hand coordination as components of spatial orientation. The plasticity of the human central nervous system allows individuals to adapt to altered stimulus conditions encountered in a microgravity environment. However, until some level of adaptation is achieved, astronauts and cosmonauts often experience space motion sickness, disturbances in motion control and eye-hand coordination, unstable vision, and illusory motion of the self, the visual scene, or both. Many of the same types of disturbances encountered in space flight reappear immediately after crew members return to earth. The magnitude of these neurosensory, sensory-motor and perceptual disturbances, and the time needed to recover from them, tend to vary as a function of mission duration and the space travelers prior experience with the stimulus rearrangement of space flight. To adequately chart the development of neurosensory changes associated with space flight, we recommend development of enhanced eye movement systems and body position measurement. We also advocate the use of a human small radius centrifuge as both a research tool and as a means of providing on-orbit countermeasures that will lessen the impact of living for long periods of time with out exposure to altering gravito-inertial forces. Copyright 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.

Design analysis of ceramic and polymer 150 kV insulators for tropical condition using quickfield software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walukow, Stephy B.; Manjang, Salama; Zainuddin, Zahir; Samman, Faizal Arya

2018-03-01

This research is to analyze design of ceramic and polymer 150 kV insulators for the tropical area. The use of an insulator certainly requires an electric field. The leakage current and breakdown voltage this happens the contaminant on the surface of the insulator. This type of contaminant can be rain, dust, salt air, extreme weather (much in tropical climates), industrial pollutants and cracks on the surface resulting in collisions. The method used in this research is magnetic field and electric field isolator using Quicfield software. To get the test results variation ranges 20 kV, 70 kV and 150 kV. Side effects of magnetic and electric fields around the insulator. The simulation results show the accumulated contaminants on the surface. Planning should be done in insulator insulator on unstable insulator. Thus, the approach using this commercially available software can be applied to. Therefore, the development of further simulations on the different types of composite insulators used on.

Strain fields induced by kink band propagation in Cu-Nb nanolaminate composites

DOE PAGES

Nizolek, T. J.; Begley, M. R.; McCabe, R. J.; ...

2017-07-01

Kink band formation is a common deformation mode for anisotropic materials and has been observed in polymer matrix fiber composites, single crystals, geological formations, and recently in metallic nanolaminates. While numerous studies have been devoted to kink band formation, the majority do not consider the often rapid and unstable process of kink band propagation. In this paper, we take advantage of stable kink band formation in Cu-Nb nanolaminates to quantitatively map the local strain fields surrounding a propagating kink band during uniaxial compression. Kink bands are observed to initiate at specimen edges, propagate across the sample during a rising globalmore » stress, and induce extended strain fields in the non-kinked material surrounding the propagating kink band. Finally, it is proposed that these stress/strain fields significantly contribute to the total energy dissipated during kinking and, analogous to crack tip stress/strain fields, influence the direction of kink propagation and therefore the kink band inclination angle.« less

Complex background suppression using global-local registration strategy for the detection of small-moving target on moving platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Tianhao; Zuo, Zhengrong

2018-02-01

Target detection is a very important and basic problem of computer vision and image processing. The most often case we meet in real world is a detection task for a moving-small target on moving platform. The commonly used methods, such as Registration-based suppression, can hardly achieve a desired result. To crack this hard nut, we introduce a Global-local registration based suppression method. Differ from the traditional ones, the proposed Global-local Registration Strategy consider both the global consistency and the local diversity of the background, obtain a better performance than normal background suppression methods. In this paper, we first discussed the features about the small-moving target detection on unstable platform. Then we introduced a new strategy and conducted an experiment to confirm its noisy stability. In the end, we confirmed the background suppression method based on global-local registration strategy has a better perform in moving target detection on moving platform.

Role of phase instabilities in the early response of bulk fused silica during laser-induced breakdown

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demange, P.; Negres, R. A.; Raman, R. N.; Colvin, J. D.; Demos, S. G.

2011-08-01

We report on the experimental and hydrocode modeling investigation of the early material response to localized energy deposition via nanosecond laser pulses in bulk fused silica. A time-resolved microscope system was used to acquire transient images with adequate spatial and temporal resolution to resolve the material behavior from the onset of the process. These images revealed a high-pressure shock front propagating at twice the speed of sound at ambient conditions and bounding a region of modified material at delays up to one nanosecond. Hydrocode simulations matching the experimental conditions were also performed and indicated initial pressures of ˜40 GPa and temperatures of ˜1 eV at the absorption region. Both the simulations and the image data show a clear boundary between distinct material phases, a hot plasma and solid silica, with a suggestion that growth of perturbations at the Rayleigh-Taylor unstable interface between the two phases is the seed mechanism for the growth of cracks into the stressed solid.

Early Weightbearing After Operatively Treated Ankle Fractures: A Biomechanical Analysis.

PubMed

Tan, Eric W; Sirisreetreerux, Norachart; Paez, Adrian G; Parks, Brent G; Schon, Lew C; Hasenboehler, Erik A

2016-06-01

No consensus exists regarding the timing of weightbearing after surgical fixation of unstable traumatic ankle fractures. We evaluated fracture displacement and timing of displacement with simulated early weightbearing in a cadaveric model. Twenty-four fresh-frozen lower extremities were assigned to Group 1, bimalleolar ankle fracture (n=6); Group 2, trimalleolar ankle fracture with unfixed small posterior malleolar fracture (n=9); or Group 3, trimalleolar ankle fracture with fixed large posterior malleolar fracture (n=9) and tested with axial compressive load at 3 Hz from 0 to 1000 N for 250 000 cycles to simulate 5 weeks of full weightbearing. Displacement was measured by differential variable reluctance transducer. The average motion at all fracture sites in all groups was significantly less than 1 mm (P < .05). Group 1 displacement of the lateral and medial malleolus fracture was 0.1±0.1 mm and 0.4±0.4 mm, respectively. Group 2 displacement of the lateral, medial, and posterior malleolar fracture was 0.6±0.4 mm, 0.5±0.4 mm, and 0.5±0.6 mm, respectively. Group 3 displacement of the lateral, medial, and posterior malleolar fracture was 0.1±0.1 mm, 0.5±0.7 mm, and 0.5±0.4 mm, respectively. The majority of displacement (64.0% to 92.3%) occurred in the first 50 000 cycles. There was no correlation between fracture displacement and bone mineral density. No significant fracture displacement, no hardware failure, and no new fractures occurred in a cadaveric model of early weightbearing in unstable ankle fracture after open reduction and internal fixation. This study supports further investigation of early weightbearing postoperative protocols after fixation of unstable ankle fractures. © The Author(s) 2016.

Direct numerical simulation of instabilities in parallel flow with spherical roughness elements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deanna, R. G.

1992-01-01

Results from a direct numerical simulation of laminar flow over a flat surface with spherical roughness elements using a spectral-element method are given. The numerical simulation approximates roughness as a cellular pattern of identical spheres protruding from a smooth wall. Periodic boundary conditions on the domain's horizontal faces simulate an infinite array of roughness elements extending in the streamwise and spanwise directions, which implies the parallel-flow assumption, and results in a closed domain. A body force, designed to yield the horizontal Blasius velocity in the absence of roughness, sustains the flow. Instabilities above a critical Reynolds number reveal negligible oscillations in the recirculation regions behind each sphere and in the free stream, high-amplitude oscillations in the layer directly above the spheres, and a mean profile with an inflection point near the sphere's crest. The inflection point yields an unstable layer above the roughness (where U''(y) is less than 0) and a stable region within the roughness (where U''(y) is greater than 0). Evidently, the instability begins when the low-momentum or wake region behind an element, being the region most affected by disturbances (purely numerical in this case), goes unstable and moves. In compressible flow with periodic boundaries, this motion sends disturbances to all regions of the domain. In the unstable layer just above the inflection point, the disturbances grow while being carried downstream with a propagation speed equal to the local mean velocity; they do not grow amid the low energy region near the roughness patch. The most amplified disturbance eventually arrives at the next roughness element downstream, perturbing its wake and inducing a global response at a frequency governed by the streamwise spacing between spheres and the mean velocity of the most amplified layer.

Classification of lumbopelvic-hip complex instability on kinematics amongst female team handball athletes.

PubMed

Gilmer, Gabrielle G; Gascon, Sarah S; Oliver, Gretchen D

2018-01-09

The purpose of this study was to examine how lumbopelvic-hip complex (LPHC) stability, via knee valgus, affects throwing kinematics during a team handball jump shot. LPHC stability was classified using the value of knee valgus at the instant of landing from the jump shot. If a participant displayed knee valgus of 17° or greater, they were classified as LPHC unstable. Stable and unstable athletes' throwing mechanics were compared. Twenty female team handball athletes (26.5±4.7years; 1.75±0.04m; 74.4±6.4kg; experience level: 4.8±4.1 years) participated. An electromagnetic tracking system was used to collect kinematic data while participants performed three 9-m jump shots. The variables considered were kinematics of the pelvis, trunk, and shoulder; and segmental speeds of the pelvis, torso, humeral, forearm, and ball velocities. Data were analyzed across four events: foot contact, maximum shoulder external rotation, ball release, and maximum shoulder internal rotation. Statistically significant differences were found between groups in pelvis, trunk, humerus, and forearm velocities at all events (p≤0.05). Specifically, the unstable group displayed significantly slower speeds. These findings suggest the difference in throwing mechanics are affected by LPHC instability for this select group of female team handball athletes. These differences infer an increased risk of injury in the upper and lower extremities when landing from a jump shot because of the energy losses throughout the kinetic chain and lack of utilization of the entire chain. It is recommended that further investigations also consider muscle activation throughout the throwing motion. Copyright © 2018 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Vortex-induced dynamic loads on a non-spinning volleyball

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qing-ding, Wei; Rong-sheng, Lin; Zhi-jie, Liu

1988-09-01

An experiment on vortex-induced dynamic loads on a non-spinning Volleyball was conducted in a wind tunnel. The flow past the Volleyball was visualized, and the aerodynamic load was measured by use of a strain gauge balance. The separation on the Volleyball was measured with hot-film. The experimental results suggest that under the action of an unstable tail vortex system the separation region is changeable, and that the fluctuation of drag and lateral forces is the same order of magnitude as the mean drag, no matter whether the seam of the Volleyball is symmetric or asymmetric, with regard to the flow. Based on the experimental data a numerical simulation of Volleyball swerve motion was made.

Stability of the phase motion in race-track microtrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubyshin, Yu. A.; Larreal, O.; Ramírez-Ros, R.; Seara, T. M.

2017-06-01

We model the phase oscillations of electrons in race-track microtrons by means of an area preserving map with a fixed point at the origin, which represents the synchronous trajectory of a reference particle in the beam. We study the nonlinear stability of the origin in terms of the synchronous phase -the phase of the synchronous particle at the injection. We estimate the size and shape of the stability domain around the origin, whose main connected component is enclosed by an invariant curve. We describe the evolution of the stability domain as the synchronous phase varies. We also clarify the role of the stable and unstable invariant curves of some hyperbolic (fixed or periodic) points.

[The hip joint in neuromuscular disorders].

PubMed

Strobl, W M

2009-07-01

Physiologic motor and biomechanical parameters are prerequisites for normal hip development and hip function. Disorders of muscle activity and lack of weight bearing due to neuromuscular diseases may cause clinical symptoms such as an unstable hip or reduced range of motion. Disability and handicap because of pain, hip dislocation, osteoarthritis, gait disorders, or problems in seating and positioning are dependent on the severity of the disease, the time of occurrence, and the means of prevention and treatment. Preservation of pain-free and stable hip joints should be gained by balancing muscular forces and by preventing progressive dislocation. Most important is the exact indication of therapeutic options such as movement and standing therapy as well as drugs and surgery.

Plasmonic Roche lobe in metal-dielectric-metal structure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shiu, Ruei-Cheng; Lan, Yung-Chiang

2013-07-15

This study investigates a plasmonic Roche lobe that is based on a metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) structure using finite-difference time-domain simulations and theoretical analyses. The effective refractive index of the MDM structure has two centers and is inversely proportional to the distance from the position of interest to the centers, in a manner that is analogous to the gravitational potential in a two-star system. The motion of surface plasmons (SPs) strongly depends on the ratio of permittivities at the two centers. The Lagrange point is an unstable equilibrium point for SPs that propagate in the system. After the SPs have passed throughmore » the Lagrange point, their spread drastically increases.« less

A theoretical approach for analyzing the restabilization of wakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, D. C.

1992-04-01

Recently reported experimental results demonstrate that restabilization of the low-Reynolds-number flow past a circular cylinder can be achieved by the placement of a smaller cylinder in the wake of the first at particular locations. Traditional numerical procedures for modeling such phenomena are computationally expensive. An approach is presented here in which the properties of the adjoint solutions to the linearized equations of motion are exploited to map quickly the best positions for the small cylinder's placement. Comparisons with experiment and previous computations are favorable. The approach is shown to be applicable to general flows, illustrating how strongly control mechanisms that involve sources of momentum couple to unstable (or stable) modes of the system.

A superparticle on the super Riemann surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsumoto, Shuji; Uehara, Shozo; Yasui, Yukinori

1990-02-01

The free motion of a nonrelativistic superparticle on the super Riemann surface (SRS) of genus h≥2 is investigated. Geodesics or classical paths are given explicitly on the super Poincaré upper half-plane SH, a universal covering space of the SRS, and the paths with some suitable initial conditions yield periodic orbits on the SRS. The periodic orbits are unstable and the system is chaotic. Quantum mechanics is solved on the universal covering space SH and the heat kernel is given on the SRS. This leads to a superanalog of the Selberg trace formula. The Selberg super zeta function is introduced whose zero points and poles determine the energy spectrum on the SRS.

Stable Orbits in the Didymos Binary Asteroid System - Useful Platforms for Exploration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Damme, Friedrich; Hussmann, Hauke; Wickhusen, Kai; Enrico, Mai; Oberst, Jürgen

2016-04-01

We have analyzed particle motion in binary asteroid systems to search for stable orbits. In particular, we studied the motion of particles near the asteroid 1996 GT (Didymos), proposed as a target for the AIDA mission. The combined gravity fields of the odd-shaped rotating objects moving about each other are complex. In addition, orbiting spacecraft or dust particles are affected by radiation pressure, possibly exceeding the faint gravitational forces. For the numerical integrations, we adopt parameters for size, shape, and rotation from telescopic observations. To simulate the effect of radiation pressure during a spacecraft mission, we apply a spacecraft wing-box shape model. Integrations were carried out beginning in near-circular orbits over 11 days, during which the motion of the particles were examined. Most orbits are unstable with particles escaping quickly or colliding with the asteroid bodies. However, with carefully chosen initial positions, we found stable motion (in the orbiting plane of the secondary) associated with the Lagrangian points (L4 and L5), in addition to horseshoe orbits, where particles move from one of the Lagrangian point to the other. Finally, we examined orbits in 1:2 resonances with the motion of the orbital period of the secondary. Stable conditions depend strongly on season caused by the inclination of the mutual orbit plane with respect to Didymos solar orbit. At larger distance from the asteroid pair, we find the well-known terminator orbits where gravitational attraction is balanced against radiation pressure. Stable orbits and long motion arcs are useful for long tracking runs by radio or Laser instruments and are well-suited for modelling of the ephemerides of the asteroid pair and gravity field mapping. Furthermore, these orbits may be useful as observing posts or as platforms for approach. These orbits may also represent traps for dust particles, an opportunity for dust collection - or possibly a hazard to spacecraft operation.

The response of multidegree-of-freedom systems with quadratic non-linearities to a harmonic parametric resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nayfeh, A. H.

1983-09-01

An analysis is presented of the response of multidegree-of-freedom systems with quadratic non-linearities to a harmonic parametric excitation in the presence of an internal resonance of the combination type ω3 ≈ ω2 + ω1, where the ωn are the linear natural frequencies of the systems. In the case of a fundamental resonance of the third mode (i.e., Ω ≈ω 3, where Ω is the frequency of the excitation), one can identify two critical values ζ 1 and ζ 2, where ζ 2 ⩾ ζ 1, of the amplitude F of the excitation. The value F = ζ2 corresponds to the transition from stable to unstable solutions. When F < ζ1, the motion decays to zero according to both linear and non-linear theories. When F > ζ2, the motion grows exponentially with time according to the linear theory but the non-linearity limits the motion to a finite amplitude steady state. The amplitude of the third mode, which is directly excited, is independent of F, whereas the amplitudes of the first and second modes, which are indirectly excited through the internal resonance, are functions of F. When ζ1 ⩽ F ⩽ ζ2, the motion decays or achieves a finite amplitude steady state depending on the initial conditions according to the non-linear theory, whereas it decays to zero according to the linear theory. This is an example of subcritical instability. In the case of a fundamental resonance of either the first or second mode, the trivial response is the only possible steady state. When F ⩽ ζ2, the motion decays to zero according to both linear and non-linear theories. When F > ζ2, the motion grows exponentially with time according to the linear theory but it is aperiodic according to the non-linear theory. Experiments are being planned to check these theoretical results.

The role of collagen on the structural response of dermal layers in mammals and fish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sherman, Vincent Robert

We study in depth the role of collagen in the protective layers of mammals (skin) and fish (scales) in depth to reveal its contribution to their mechanical performance. In order to gain an understanding of the structure property relations, we investigate its hierarchical arrangement and how it results in a specialized response. For rabbit skin, chosen as a model material for the dermis of vertebrates, deformation is expressed in terms of four mechanisms of collagen fibril activity that virtually eliminate the possibility of tearing in notched samples: fibril straightening, fibril reorientation towards the tensile direction, elastic stretching, and interfibrillar sliding. A model reflecting the in vivo shape of collagen is derived. The model incorporates the effects of its elasticity, viscoelasticity, and orientation. For arapaima and alligator gar scales, we investigate their protective function and identify key features which result in their resistance to failure. For the elasmoid scales of the arapaima, we show that the scale has a Bouligand-like arrangement of collagen layers which stretch, rotate, and delaminate to dissipate energy and arrest cracking prior to catastrophic failure. Atop the foundation are mineral ridges; this arrangement provides high toughness and resistance to penetration by predator teeth. We show that the ganoid scales of the alligator gar have a boney composite foundation of collagen and hydroxyapatite as well as an external surface of pure hydroxyapatite. Failure averting features of the gar scale include: crack inhibiting mineral decussation in the external ganoine layer; mineral crystals and tubules which deflect cracks in the bony region; and saw-tooth ridges along the interface between the two scale layers which direct cracks away from the weak interface. Furthermore, the scale's geometry is optimized to provide full coverage while accommodating physiological motion. Key features of the scale morphology are replicated in a bioinspired model which retains protection and flexibility.

Self-sustained oscillations of a sinusoidally-deformed plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muriel, Diego F.; Cowen, Edwin A.

2015-11-01

Motivated by energy harvesting, the oscillatory motion of a deformed elastic material with aspect ratio Length/Width=2, immerse in an incompressible flow is studied experimentally. To induce the wave-like deformation a polycarbonate sheet is placed under longitudinal compression with external forcing provided by equispaced tension lines anchored in a frame. No additional constrains are placed in the material. Based on quantitative image-based edge detection, ADV, and PIV measurements, we document the existence of three natural states of motion. Bellow a critical velocity, a stable state presents a sinusoidal-like deformation with weak small perturbations. Above a critical velocity, instability appears in the form of a traveling wave with predictable dominant frequency accompanied by higher-order harmonics. As the flow velocity increases the instability converges faster to its limit cycle in the phase plane (e.g., vertical velocity and position), until the stable oscillatory mode transitions to chaos showing a broad energy spectrum and unstable limit cycle. The underlying objective is to induce the onset of the instability at lower critical velocities for higher bending rigidities, promoting possible energy extraction and increasing the range at which stable oscillations appear.

Liquid-State and Solid-State Properties of Nanotube/Polypropylene Nanocomposites Elaborated via a Simple Procedure

PubMed Central

Huegun, Arrate; Fernández, Mercedes; Peña, Juanjo; Muñoz, María Eugenia; Santamaría, Antxon

2013-01-01

Non-modified Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) and polypropylene (PP) in absence of compatibilizer have been chosen to elaborate MWCNT/PP nanocomposites using a simple melt-mixing dispersing method. Calorimetry results indicate little effect of MWCNTs on crystallinity of PP, revealing not much interaction between nanotubes and PP chains, which is compatible with the employed manufacturing procedure. In any case, a hindering of polymer chains motion by MWCNTs is observed in the molten state, using oscillatory flow experiments, and a rheological percolation threshold is determined. The percolation limit is not noticed by Pressure-Volume-Temperature (PVT) measurements in the melt, because this technique rather detects local motions. Keeping the nanocomposites in the molten state provokes an electrical conductivity increase of several orders of magnitude, but on ulterior crystallization, the conductivity decreases, probably due to a reduction of the ionic conductivity. For a concentration of 2% MWCNTs, in the limit of percolation, the conductivity decreases considerably more, because percolation network constituted in the molten state is unstable and is destroyed during crystallization. PMID:28348329

Giant frequency down-conversion of the dancing acoustic bubble

PubMed Central

Deymier, P. A.; Keswani, M.; Jenkins, N.; Tang, C.; Runge, K.

2016-01-01

We have demonstrated experimentally the existence of a giant frequency down-conversion of the translational oscillatory motion of individual submillimeter acoustic bubbles in water in the presence of a high frequency (500 kHz) ultrasonic standing wave. The frequency of the translational oscillations (~170 Hz) is more than three orders of magnitude smaller than that of the driving acoustic wave. We elucidate the mechanism of this very slow oscillation with an analytical model leading to an equation of translational motion of a bubble taking the form of Mathieu’s equation. This equation illuminates the origin of the giant down conversion in frequency as arising from an unstable equilibrium. We also show that bubbles that form chains along the direction of the acoustic standing wave due to radiation interaction forces exhibit also translation oscillations that form a spectral band. This band extends approximately from 130 Hz up to nearly 370 Hz, a frequency range that is still at least three orders of magnitude lower than the frequency of the driving acoustic wave. PMID:27857217

The Modelling of Axially Translating Flexible Beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Theodore, R. J.; Arakeri, J. H.; Ghosal, A.

1996-04-01

The axially translating flexible beam with a prismatic joint can be modelled by using the Euler-Bernoulli beam equation together with the convective terms. In general, the method of separation of variables cannot be applied to solve this partial differential equation. In this paper, a non-dimensional form of the Euler Bernoulli beam equation is presented, obtained by using the concept of group velocity, and also the conditions under which separation of variables and assumed modes method can be used. The use of clamped-mass boundary conditions leads to a time-dependent frequency equation for the translating flexible beam. A novel method is presented for solving this time dependent frequency equation by using a differential form of the frequency equation. The assume mode/Lagrangian formulation of dynamics is employed to derive closed form equations of motion. It is shown by using Lyapunov's first method that the dynamic responses of flexural modal variables become unstable during retraction of the flexible beam, which the dynamic response during extension of the beam is stable. Numerical simulation results are presented for the uniform axial motion induced transverse vibration for a typical flexible beam.

Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack effect on tumbling objects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breiter, S.; Rożek, A.; Vokrouhlický, D.

2011-11-01

A semi-analytical model of the Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect on an asteroid spin in a non-principal axis rotation state is developed. The model describes the spin-state evolution in Deprit-Elipe variables, first-order averaged with respect to rotation and Keplerian orbital motion. Assuming zero conductivity, the YORP torque is represented by spherical harmonic series with vectorial coefficients, allowing us to use any degree and order of approximation. Within the quadrupole approximation of the illumination function we find the same first integrals involving rotational momentum, obliquity and dynamical inertia that were obtained by Cicaló & Scheeres. The integrals do not exist when higher degree terms of the illumination function are included, and then the asymptotic states known from Vokrouhlický et al. appear. This resolves an apparent contradiction between earlier results. Averaged equations of motion admit stable and unstable limit cycle solutions that were not previously detected. Non-averaged numerical integration by the Taylor series method for an exemplary shape of 3103 Eger is in good agreement with the semi-analytical theory.

Giant frequency down-conversion of the dancing acoustic bubble

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deymier, P. A.; Keswani, M.; Jenkins, N.; Tang, C.; Runge, K.

2016-11-01

We have demonstrated experimentally the existence of a giant frequency down-conversion of the translational oscillatory motion of individual submillimeter acoustic bubbles in water in the presence of a high frequency (500 kHz) ultrasonic standing wave. The frequency of the translational oscillations (~170 Hz) is more than three orders of magnitude smaller than that of the driving acoustic wave. We elucidate the mechanism of this very slow oscillation with an analytical model leading to an equation of translational motion of a bubble taking the form of Mathieu’s equation. This equation illuminates the origin of the giant down conversion in frequency as arising from an unstable equilibrium. We also show that bubbles that form chains along the direction of the acoustic standing wave due to radiation interaction forces exhibit also translation oscillations that form a spectral band. This band extends approximately from 130 Hz up to nearly 370 Hz, a frequency range that is still at least three orders of magnitude lower than the frequency of the driving acoustic wave.

Proper Motion of the Compact, Nonthermal Radio Source in the Galactic Center, Sagittarius A*

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Backer, D. C.; Sramek, R. A.

1999-10-01

Proper motions and radial velocities of luminous infrared stars in the Galactic center have provided strong evidence for a dark mass of 2.5×106 Msolar in the central 0.05 pc of the Galaxy. The leading hypothesis for this mass is a black hole. High angular resolution measurements at radio wavelengths find a compact radio source, Sagittarius (Sgr) A*, that is either the faint glow from a small amount of material accreting onto the hole with low radiative efficiency or a miniature active galactic nucleus (AGN) core-jet system. This paper provides a full report on the first program that has measured the apparent proper motion of Sgr A* with respect to background extragalactic reference frame. Our current result isμl,*=[-6.18+/-0.19] mas yr-1 μb,*=[-0.65+/-0.17] mas yr-1 . The observations were obtained with the NRAO Very Large Array at 4.9 GHz over 16 yr. The proper motion of Sgr A* provides an estimate of its mass based on equipartition of kinetic energy between the hole and the surrounding stars. The measured motion is largest in galactic longitude. This component of the motion is consistent with the secular parallax that results from the rotation of the solar system about the center, which is a global measure of the difference between Oort's constants (A-B), with no additional peculiar motion of Sgr A*. The current uncertainty in Oort's galactic rotation constants limits the use of this component of the proper motion for a mass inference. In latitude, we find a small, and weakly significant, peculiar motion of Sgr A*, -19+/-7 km s-1 after correction for the motion of the solar system with respect to the local standard of rest. We consider sources of peculiar motion of Sgr A* ranging from unstable radio wave propagation through intervening turbulent plasma to the effects of asymmetric masses in the center. These fail to account for a significant peculiar motion. One can appeal to an m=1 dynamical instability that numerical simulations have revealed. However, the measurement of a latitude peculiar proper motion of comparable magnitude and error but with opposite sign in the companion paper by Reid leads us to conclude at the present time that our errors may be underestimated and that the actual peculiar motion might therefore be closer to zero. Improvement of these measurements with further observations and resolving the differences between independent experiments will provide the accuracies of a few km s-1 in both coordinates that will provide both a black hole mass estimate and a definitive determination of Oort's galactic rotation constants on a global Galactic scale.

Performance of Koyna dam based on static and dynamic analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azizan, Nik Zainab Nik; Majid, Taksiah A.; Nazri, Fadzli Mohamed; Maity, Damodar

2017-10-01

This paper discusses the performance of Koyna dam based on static pushover analysis (SPO) and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA). The SPO in this study considered two type of lateral load which is inertial load and hydrodynamic load. The structure was analyse until the damage appears on the structure body. The IDA curves were develop based on 7 ground motion, where the characteristic of the ground motions: i) the distance from the epicenter is less than 15km, (ii) the magnitude is equal to or greater than 5.5 and (iii) the PGA is equal to or greater than 0.15g. All the ground motions convert to respond spectrum and scaled according to the developed elastic respond spectrum in order to match the characteristic of the ground motion to the soil type. Elastic respond spectrum developed based on soil type B by using Eurocode 8. By using SPO and IDA method are able to determine the limit states of the dam. The limit state proposed in this study are yielding and ultimate state which is identified base on crack pattern perform on the structure model. The comparison of maximum crest displacement for both methods is analysed to define the limit state of the dam. The displacement of yielding state for Koyna dam is 23.84mm and 44.91mm for the ultimate state. The results are able to be used as a guideline to monitor Koyna dam under seismic loadings which are considering static and dynamic.

Accurate Simulation of Acoustic Emission Sources in Composite Plates

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Prosser, W. H.; Gorman, M. R.

1994-01-01

Acoustic emission (AE) signals propagate as the extensional and flexural plate modes in thin composite plates and plate-like geometries such as shells, pipes, and tubes. The relative amplitude of the two modes depends on the directionality of the source motion. For source motions with large out-of-plane components such as delaminations or particle impact, the flexural or bending plate mode dominates the AE signal with only a small extensional mode detected. A signal from such a source is well simulated with the standard pencil lead break (Hsu-Neilsen source) on the surface of the plate. For other sources such as matrix cracking or fiber breakage in which the source motion is primarily in-plane, the resulting AE signal has a large extensional mode component with little or no flexural mode observed. Signals from these type sources can also be simulated with pencil lead breaks. However, the lead must be fractured on the edge of the plate to generate an in-plane source motion rather than on the surface of the plate. In many applications such as testing of pressure vessels and piping or aircraft structures, a free edge is either not available or not in a desired location for simulation of in-plane type sources. In this research, a method was developed which allows the simulation of AE signals with a predominant extensional mode component in composite plates requiring access to only the surface of the plate.

Preparation of Segmented Microtubules to Study Motions Driven by the Disassembling Microtubule Ends

PubMed Central

Volkov, Vladimir A.; Zaytsev, Anatoly V.; Grishchuk, Ekaterina L.

2014-01-01

Microtubule depolymerization can provide force to transport different protein complexes and protein-coated beads in vitro. The underlying mechanisms are thought to play a vital role in the microtubule-dependent chromosome motions during cell division, but the relevant proteins and their exact roles are ill-defined. Thus, there is a growing need to develop assays with which to study such motility in vitro using purified components and defined biochemical milieu. Microtubules, however, are inherently unstable polymers; their switching between growth and shortening is stochastic and difficult to control. The protocols we describe here take advantage of the segmented microtubules that are made with the photoablatable stabilizing caps. Depolymerization of such segmented microtubules can be triggered with high temporal and spatial resolution, thereby assisting studies of motility at the disassembling microtubule ends. This technique can be used to carry out a quantitative analysis of the number of molecules in the fluorescently-labeled protein complexes, which move processively with dynamic microtubule ends. To optimize a signal-to-noise ratio in this and other quantitative fluorescent assays, coverslips should be treated to reduce nonspecific absorption of soluble fluorescently-labeled proteins. Detailed protocols are provided to take into account the unevenness of fluorescent illumination, and determine the intensity of a single fluorophore using equidistant Gaussian fit. Finally, we describe the use of segmented microtubules to study microtubule-dependent motions of the protein-coated microbeads, providing insights into the ability of different motor and nonmotor proteins to couple microtubule depolymerization to processive cargo motion. PMID:24686554

On the orbital stability of pendulum-like vibrations of a rigid body carrying a rotor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yehia, Hamad M.; El-Hadidy, E. G.

2013-09-01

One of the most notable effects in mechanics is the stabilization of the unstable upper equilibrium position of a symmetric body fixed from one point on its axis of symmetry, either by giving the body a suitable angular velocity or by adding a suitably spinned rotor along its axis. This effect is widely used in technology and in space dynamics. The aim of the present article is to explore the effect of the presence of a rotor on a simple periodic motion of the rigid body and its motion as a physical pendulum. The equation in the variation for pendulum vibrations takes the form in which α depends on the moments of inertia, ρ on the gyrostatic momentum of the rotor and ν (the modulus of the elliptic function) depends on the total energy of the motion. This equation, which reduces to Lame's equation when ρ = 0, has not been studied to any extent in the literature. The determination of the zones of stability and instability of plane motion reduces to finding conditions for the existence of primitive periodic solutions (with periods 4 K( ν), 8 K( ν)) with those parameters. Complete analysis of primitive periodic solutions of this equation is performed analogously to that of Ince for Lame's equation. Zones of stability and instability are determined analytically and illustrated in a graphical form by plotting surfaces separating them in the three-dimensional space of parameters. The problem is also solved numerically in certain regions of the parameter space, and results are compared to analytical ones.

Why rainfall response to El Niño over Maritime Continent is weaker and non-uniform in boreal winter than in boreal summer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Leishan; Li, Tim

2017-11-01

Why rainfall response to El Niño is uniform and stronger over the Maritime Continent (MC) during El Niño developing summer and fall but is weaker and non-uniform during El Niño mature winter is investigated through the diagnosis of anomalous large-scale circulation patterns and a local moisture budget analysis. It is found that when anomalous Walker cells across the equatorial Pacific and Indian Ocean are strengthened toward El Niño mature winter, a low-level ascending motion anomaly starts to develop over western MC in northern fall due to topographic lifting (near Sumatra) and anomalous wind convergence (near west Kalimantan). Easterly anomalies, as a part of an anomalous anticyclone in South China Sea (SCS) that is developed during El Niño and a part of the south-easterly from Java Sea associated with anomalous Walker Circulation, bump into the mountain ridge of Sumatra and induce ascending motion anomalies near Sumatra. Meanwhile, the anomalous north-easterly in the southern flank of the anomalous anticyclone over SCS and south-easterly over Java Sea converge into west Kalimantan, leading to ascending motion there. The anomalous ascending motion tend to advect mean moisture upward to moisten lower troposphere in situ. This low-level moistening eventually sets up a convectively unstable stratification and induces a positive precipitation anomaly in the western MC. How the mechanism discussed here is relevant to previous hypotheses and how processes during El Niño might differ during La Niña are discussed.

Analysis of Preferred Directions in Phase Space for Tidal Measurements at Europa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boone, D.; Scheeres, D. J.

2012-12-01

The NASA Jupiter Europa Orbiter mission requires a circular, near-polar orbit to measure Europa's Love numbers, geophysical coefficients which give insight into whether a liquid ocean exists. This type of orbit about planetary satellites is known to be unstable. The effects of Jupiter's tidal gravity are seen in changes in Europa's gravity field and surface deformation, which are sensed through doppler tracking over time and altimetry measurements respectively. These two measurement types separately determine the h and k Love numbers, a combination of which bounds how thick the ice shell of Europa is and whether liquid water is present. This work shows how the properties of an unstable periodic orbit about Europa generate preferred measurement directions in position and velocity phase space for the orbit determination process. We generate an error covariance over seven days for the orbiter state and science parameters using a periodic orbit and then disperse the orbit initial conditions in a Monte Carlo simulation according to this covariance. The dispersed orbits are shown to have a bias toward longer lifetimes and we discuss this as an effect of the stable and unstable manifolds of the periodic orbit. Using an epoch formulation of a square-root information filter, measurements aligned with the unstable manifold mapped back in time add more information to the orbit determination process than measurements aligned with the stable manifold. This corresponds to a contraction in the uncertainty of the estimate of the desired parameters, including the Love numbers. We demonstrate this mapping mathematically using a representation of the State Transition Matrix involving its eigenvectors and eigenvalues. Then using the properties of left and right eigenvectors, we show how measurements in the orbit determination process are mapped in time leading to a concentration of information at epoch. We present examples of measurements taken on different time schedules to show the effect of preferred phase space directions in the estimation process. Manifold coordinate decomposition is applied to the orbit initial conditions as well as measurement partials in the filter to show the alignment of each with the stable and unstable manifolds of the periodic orbit. The connection between orbit lifetime and regions of increased information density in phase space is made using the properties of these manifolds. Low altitude, near-polar periodic orbits with these characteristics are discussed along with the estimation results for the Love numbers, orbiter state, and orbit lifetime. Different measurement schedules and the resulting estimation performance are presented along with an analysis of information content for single measurements with respect to manifold alignment. These results allow more sensitive estimation of the tidal Love numbers and may allow measurements to be taken less frequently or compensate for corrupted data arcs. Other measurement types will be mapped in the same way using the State Transition matrix and have increased information density at epoch if aligned with the unstable manifold. In the same way, these results are applicable to planetary satellite orbiters about Enceladus or Dione since they share the governing equations of motion and properties of unstable periodic orbits.

On stress analysis of a crack-layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chudnovsky, A.; Dolgopolsky, A.; Kachanov, M.

1984-01-01

This work considers the problem of elastic interaction of a macrocrack with an array of microcracks in the vicinity of the macrocrack tip. Using the double layer potential techniques, the solution to the problem within the framework of the plane problem of elastostatics has been obtained. Three particular problems of interest to fracture mechanics have been analyzed. It follows from analysis that microcrack array can either amplify or reduce the resulting stress field of the macrocrack-microcrack array system depending on the array's configuration. Using the obtained elastic solution the energy release rate associated with the translational motion of the macrocrack-microcrack array system has been evaluated.

Features of volcanic activity on various bodies of the Solar system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vidmachenko, A. P.

2018-05-01

The bark of many cosmic bodies is in motion due to the displacement of tectonic plates on magma. Outpouring of molten magma through cracks in the bark is called volcano eruption. Such eruptions create new forms of relief, new types of rocks and landscapes; they differ in chemical composition, thermal conditions, etc. That is, volcanoes themselves form new types of resources on the bodies of the Solar system. There are three main types of volcanoes: basaltic, andesitic and cryo or ice volcanoes. The first and second types of eruptions are typical for planets of terrestrial type and for some satellites of the planets.

Compressive rib fracture: peri-mortem and post-mortem trauma patterns in a pig model.

PubMed

Kieser, Jules A; Weller, Sarah; Swain, Michael V; Neil Waddell, J; Das, Raj

2013-07-01

Despite numerous studies on high impact fractures of ribs, little is known about compressive rib injuries. We studied rib fractures from a biomechanical and morphological perspective using 15, 5th ribs of domestic pigs Sus scrofa, divided into two groups, desiccated (representing post-mortem trauma) and fresh ribs with intact periosteum (representing peri-mortem trauma). Ribs were axially compressed and subjected to four-point bending in an Instron 3339 fitted with custom jigs. Morphoscopic analysis of resultant fractures consisted of standard optical methods, micro-CT (μCT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). During axial compression, fresh ribs had slightly higher strength because of energy absorption capabilities of their soft and fluidic components. In flexure tests, dry ribs showed typical elastic-brittle behaviour with long linear load-extension curves, followed by relatively short non-linear elastic (hyperelastic) behaviour and brittle fracture. Fresh ribs showed initial linear-elastic behaviour, followed by strain softening, visco-plastic responses. During the course of loading, dry bone showed minimal observable damage prior to the onset of unstable fracture. In contrast, fresh bone showed buckling-like damage features on the compressive surface and cracking parallel to the axis of the bone. Morphologically, all dry ribs fractured precipitously, whereas all but one of the fresh ribs showed incomplete fracture. The mode of fracture, however, was remarkably similar for both groups, with butterfly fractures predominating (7/15, 46.6% dry and wet). Our study highlights the fact that under controlled loading, despite seemingly similar butterfly fracture morphology, fresh ribs (representing perimortem trauma) show a non-catastrophic response. While extensive strain softening observed for the fresh bone does show some additional micro-cracking damage, it appears that the periosteum may play a key role in imparting the observed pseudo-ductility to the ribs. The presence of fibrous pull-out and grooving of the outer tensile surface associated with periosteal stretching suggests that the periosteum under tension is able to sustain very high strain and bridge the mouth of the extending butterfly crack, thereby contributing to the observed strain-softening behaviour. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The drama of Puna: For and against the Hawai'i geothermal project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keyser, William Henry

The geothermal project was conceived in the context of the international oil business and the economic growth of Hawai'i. From the point of view of the State, the geothermal project is necessary because imported petroleum provides Hawai'i with 911/2 percent of its total energy. That petroleum consists of 140,000 b/d of crude (1990) and it comes from Alaska, Indonesia and a few other suppliers. However, the Alaskan North Slope is beginning to run dry and the Southeast Asian suppliers of crude will be exporting less petroleum as time goes on. Increasingly, Hawai'i will become dependent on "unstable Middle Eastern" suppliers of crude. From this worry about the Middle East, the State seeks indigenous energy to reduce its dependence on petroleum and to support economic growth. Hence, the geothermal project was born after the 1973 oil embargo. The major source of geothermal energy is the Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island. Kilauea is characterized by the Kilauea caldera and a crack in the Island which extends easterly from the caldera to Cape Kumukahi in Puna and southwest to Pahala in Ka'u. The eastern part of the crack is approximately 55 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide. The geothermal plants will sit on this crack. While the State has promoted the geothermal project with the argument of reducing "dependence" on imported petroleum, it hardly mentions its goal of economic growth. The opponents have resisted the project on the grounds of protecting Pele and Hawaiian gathering rights, protecting the rain forest, and stopping the pollution in the geothermal steam. What the opponents do not mention is their support for economic growth. The opposition to the project suggests a new environmental politics is forming in Hawai'i. Is this true? The dissertation will show that the participants in this drama are involved in a strange dance where each side avoids any recognition of their fundamental agreement on economic growth. Hence the creation of a new environmental politics which accounts for the danger inherent in economic growth, the eventual depletion of petroleum and the West's imperative to conquer nature is very problematic.

Assessing the physical nature of near-Earth asteroids through their dynamical histories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernández, Julio A.; Sosa, Andrea; Gallardo, Tabaré; Gutiérrez, Jorge N.

2014-08-01

We analyze a sample of 139 near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), defined as those that reach perihelion distances q<1.3 au, and that also fulfill the conditions of approaching or crossing Jupiter’s orbit (aphelion distances Q>4.8 au), having Tisserand parameters 24.8 au of cometary origin, but it could be even lower if the NEAs in unstable orbits listed before turn out to be bona fide asteroids from the main belt. This study strengthens the idea that NEAs and comets essentially are two distinct populations, and that periods of dormancy in comets must be rare. Most likely, active comets in near-Earth orbits go through a continuous erosion process in successive perihelion passages until disintegration into meteoritic dust and fragments of different sizes. In this scenario, 289P/Blanpain might be a near-devolatized fragment from a by now disintegrated parent comet.

Comparative Effects of Different Balance-Training-Progression Styles on Postural Control and Ankle Force Production: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

PubMed

Cuğ, Mutlu; Duncan, Ashley; Wikstrom, Erik

2016-02-01

Despite the effectiveness of balance training, the exact parameters needed to maximize the benefits of such programs remain unknown. One such factor is how individuals should progress to higher levels of task difficulty within a balance-training program. Yet no investigators have directly compared different balance-training-progression styles. To compare an error-based progression (ie, advance when proficient at a task) with a repetition-based progression (ie, advance after a set amount of repetitions) style during a balance-training program in healthy individuals. Randomized controlled trial. Research laboratory. A total of 28 (16 women, 12 men) physically healthy young adults (age = 21.57 ± 3.95 years, height = 171.60 ± 11.03 cm, weight = 72.96 ± 16.18 kg, body mass index = 24.53 ± 3.7). All participants completed 12 supervised balance-training sessions over 4 weeks. Each session consisted of a combination of dynamic unstable-surface tasks that incorporated a BOSU ball and lasted about 30 minutes. Static balance from an instrumented force plate, dynamic balance as measured via the Star Excursion Balance Test, and ankle force production in all 4 cardinal planes of motion as measured with a handheld dynamometer before and after the intervention. Selected static postural-control outcomes, dynamic postural control, and ankle force production in all planes of motion improved (P < .05). However, no differences between the progression styles were observed (P > .05) for any of the outcome measures. A 4-week balance-training program consisting of dynamic unstable-surface exercises on a BOSU ball improved dynamic postural control and ankle force production in healthy young adults. These results suggest that an error-based balance-training program is comparable with but not superior to a repetition-based balance-training program in improving postural control and ankle force production in healthy young adults.

One-dimensional Turbulence Models of Type I X-ray Bursts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hou, Chen

Type I X-ray bursts are caused by thermonuclear explosions occurring on the surface of an accreting neutron star in a binary star system. Observations and simulations of these phenomena are of great importance for understanding the fundamental properties of neutron stars and dense matter because the equation of state for cold dense matter can be constrained by the mass-radius relationship of neutron stars. During the bursts, turbulence plays a key role in mixing the fuels and driving the unstable nuclear burning process. This dissertation presents one-dimensional models of photospheric radius expansion bursts with a new approach to simulate turbulent advection.more » Compared with the traditional mixing length theory, the one-dimensional turbulence (ODT) model represents turbulent motions by a sequence of maps that are generated according to a stochastic process. The light curves I obtained with the ODT models are in good agreement with those of the KEPLER model in which the mixing length theory and various diffusive processes are applied. The abundance comparison, however, indicates that the differences in turbulent regions and turbulent diffusivities result in more 12C survival during the bursts in the ODT models, which can make a difference in the superbursts phenomena triggered by unstable carbon burning.« less

Perturbations and moduli space dynamics of tachyon kinks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hindmarsh, Mark; Li Huiquan

2008-03-15

The dynamic process of unstable D-branes decaying into stable ones with one dimension lower can be described by a tachyon field with a Dirac-Born-Infeld effective action. In this paper we investigate the fluctuation modes of the tachyon field around a two-parameter family of static solutions representing an array of brane-antibrane pairs. Besides a pair of zero modes associated with the parameters of the solution, and instabilities associated with annihilation of the brane-antibrane pairs, we find states corresponding to excitations of the tachyon field around the brane and in the bulk. In the limit that the brane thickness tends to zero,more » the support of the eigenmodes is limited to the brane, consistent with the idea that propagating tachyon modes drop out of the spectrum as the tachyon field approaches its ground state. The zero modes, and other low-lying excited states, show a fourfold degeneracy in this limit, which can be identified with some of the massless superstring modes in the brane-antibrane system. Finally, we also discuss the slow motion of the solution corresponding to the decay process in the moduli space, finding a trajectory which oscillates periodically between the unstable D-brane and the brane-antibrane pairs of one dimension lower.« less

Modified Chapman-Enskog moment approach to diffusive phonon heat transport.

PubMed

Banach, Zbigniew; Larecki, Wieslaw

2008-12-01

A detailed treatment of the Chapman-Enskog method for a phonon gas is given within the framework of an infinite system of moment equations obtained from Callaway's model of the Boltzmann-Peierls equation. Introducing no limitations on the magnitudes of the individual components of the drift velocity or the heat flux, this method is used to derive various systems of hydrodynamic equations for the energy density and the drift velocity. For one-dimensional flow problems, assuming that normal processes dominate over resistive ones, it is found that the first three levels of the expansion (i.e., the zeroth-, first-, and second-order approximations) yield the equations of hydrodynamics which are linearly stable at all wavelengths. This result can be achieved either by examining the dispersion relations for linear plane waves or by constructing the explicit quadratic Lyapunov entropy functionals for the linear perturbation equations. The next order in the Chapman-Enskog expansion leads to equations which are unstable to some perturbations. Precisely speaking, the linearized equations of motion that describe the propagation of small disturbances in the flow have unstable plane-wave solutions in the short-wavelength limit of the dispersion relations. This poses no problem if the equations are used in their proper range of validity.

Numerical Simulation of Flow in a Whirling Annular Seal and Comparison with Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Athavale, M. M.; Hendricks, R. C.; Steinetz, B. M.

1995-01-01

The turbulent flow field in a simulated annular seal with a large clearance/radius ratio (0.015) and a whirling rotor was simulated using an advanced 3D CFD code SCISEAL. A circular whirl orbit with synchronous whirl was imposed on the rotor center. The flow field was rendered quasi-steady by making a transformation to a totaling frame. Standard k-epsilon model with wall functions was used to treat the turbulence. Experimentally measured values of flow parameters were used to specify the seal inlet and exit boundary conditions. The computed flow-field in terms of the velocity and pressure is compared with the experimental measurements inside the seal. The agreement between the numerical results and experimental data with correction is fair to good. The capability of current advanced CFD methodology to analyze this complex flow field is demonstrated. The methodology can also be extended to other whirl frequencies. Half- (or sub-) synchronous (fluid film unstable motion) and synchronous (rotor centrifugal force unbalance) whirls are the most unstable whirl modes in turbomachinery seals, and the flow code capability of simulating the flows in steady as well as whirling seals will prove to be extremely useful in the design, analyses, and performance predictions of annular as well as other types of seals.

Directional reversals enable Myxococcus xanthus cells to produce collective one-dimensional streams during fruiting-body formation

PubMed Central

Thutupalli, Shashi; Sun, Mingzhai; Bunyak, Filiz; Palaniappan, Kannappan; Shaevitz, Joshua W.

2015-01-01

The formation of a collectively moving group benefits individuals within a population in a variety of ways. The surface-dwelling bacterium Myxococcus xanthus forms dynamic collective groups both to feed on prey and to aggregate during times of starvation. The latter behaviour, termed fruiting-body formation, involves a complex, coordinated series of density changes that ultimately lead to three-dimensional aggregates comprising hundreds of thousands of cells and spores. How a loose, two-dimensional sheet of motile cells produces a fixed aggregate has remained a mystery as current models of aggregation are either inconsistent with experimental data or ultimately predict unstable structures that do not remain fixed in space. Here, we use high-resolution microscopy and computer vision software to spatio-temporally track the motion of thousands of individuals during the initial stages of fruiting-body formation. We find that cells undergo a phase transition from exploratory flocking, in which unstable cell groups move rapidly and coherently over long distances, to a reversal-mediated localization into one-dimensional growing streams that are inherently stable in space. These observations identify a new phase of active collective behaviour and answer a long-standing open question in Myxococcus development by describing how motile cell groups can remain statistically fixed in a spatial location. PMID:26246416

The true quantum face of the "exponential" decay: Unstable systems in rest and in motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urbanowski, K.

2017-12-01

Results of theoretical studies and numerical calculations presented in the literature suggest that the survival probability P0(t) has the exponential form starting from times much smaller than the lifetime τ up to times t ⪢τ and that P0(t) exhibits inverse power-law behavior at the late time region for times longer than the so-called crossover time T ⪢ τ (The crossover time T is the time when the late time deviations of P0(t) from the exponential form begin to dominate). More detailed analysis of the problem shows that in fact the survival probability P0(t) can not take the pure exponential form at any time interval including times smaller than the lifetime τ or of the order of τ and it has has an oscillating form. We also study the survival probability of moving relativistic unstable particles with definite momentum . These studies show that late time deviations of the survival probability of these particles from the exponential-like form of the decay law, that is the transition times region between exponential-like and non-exponential form of the survival probability, should occur much earlier than it follows from the classical standard considerations.

On the bistable zone of milling processes

PubMed Central

Dombovari, Zoltan; Stepan, Gabor

2015-01-01

A modal-based model of milling machine tools subjected to time-periodic nonlinear cutting forces is introduced. The model describes the phenomenon of bistability for certain cutting parameters. In engineering, these parameter domains are referred to as unsafe zones, where steady-state milling may switch to chatter for certain perturbations. In mathematical terms, these are the parameter domains where the periodic solution of the corresponding nonlinear, time-periodic delay differential equation is linearly stable, but its domain of attraction is limited due to the existence of an unstable quasi-periodic solution emerging from a secondary Hopf bifurcation. A semi-numerical method is presented to identify the borders of these bistable zones by tracking the motion of the milling tool edges as they might leave the surface of the workpiece during the cutting operation. This requires the tracking of unstable quasi-periodic solutions and the checking of their grazing to a time-periodic switching surface in the infinite-dimensional phase space. As the parameters of the linear structural behaviour of the tool/machine tool system can be obtained by means of standard modal testing, the developed numerical algorithm provides efficient support for the design of milling processes with quick estimates of those parameter domains where chatter can still appear in spite of setting the parameters into linearly stable domains. PMID:26303918

Dynamical singularities for complex initial conditions and the motion at a real separatrix.

PubMed

Shnerb, Tamar; Kay, K G

2006-04-01

This work investigates singularities occurring at finite real times in the classical dynamics of one-dimensional double-well systems with complex initial conditions. The objective is to understand the relationship between these singularities and the behavior of the systems for real initial conditions. An analytical treatment establishes that the dynamics of a quartic double well system possesses a doubly infinite sequence of singularities. These are associated with initial conditions that converge to those for the real separatrix as the singularity time becomes infinite. This confluence of singularities is shown to lead to the unstable behavior that characterizes the real motion at the separatrix. Numerical calculations confirm the existence of a large number of singularities converging to the separatrix for this and two additional double-well systems. The approach of singularities to the real axis is of particular interest since such behavior has been related to the formation of chaos in nonintegrable systems. The properties of the singular trajectories which cause this convergence to the separatrix are identified. The hyperbolic fixed point corresponding to the potential energy maximum, responsible for the characteristic motion at a separatrix, also plays a critical role in the formation of the complex singularities by delaying trajectories and then deflecting them into asymptotic regions of space from where they are directly repelled to infinity in a finite time.

Stability and modal analysis of shock/boundary layer interactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nichols, Joseph W.; Larsson, Johan; Bernardini, Matteo; Pirozzoli, Sergio

2017-02-01

The dynamics of oblique shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interactions is analyzed by mining a large-eddy simulation (LES) database for various strengths of the incoming shock. The flow dynamics is first analyzed by means of dynamic mode decomposition (DMD), which highlights the simultaneous occurrence of two types of flow modes, namely a low-frequency type associated with breathing motion of the separation bubble, accompanied by flapping motion of the reflected shock, and a high-frequency type associated with the propagation of instability waves past the interaction zone. Global linear stability analysis performed on the mean LES flow fields yields a single unstable zero-frequency mode, plus a variety of marginally stable low-frequency modes whose stability margin decreases with the strength of the interaction. The least stable linear modes are grouped into two classes, one of which bears striking resemblance to the breathing mode recovered from DMD and another class associated with revolving motion within the separation bubble. The results of the modal and linear stability analysis support the notion that low-frequency dynamics is intrinsic to the interaction zone, but some continuous forcing from the upstream boundary layer may be required to keep the system near a limit cycle. This can be modeled as a weakly damped oscillator with forcing, as in the early empirical model by Plotkin (AIAA J 13:1036-1040, 1975).

Loss of G-A base pairs is insufficient for achieving a large opening of U4 snRNA K-turn motif.

PubMed

Cojocaru, Vlad; Klement, Reinhard; Jovin, Thomas M

2005-01-01

Upon binding to the 15.5K protein, two tandem-sheared G-A base pairs are formed in the internal loop of the kink-turn motif of U4 snRNA (Kt-U4). We have reported that the folding of Kt-U4 is assisted by protein binding. Unstable interactions that contribute to a large opening of the free RNA ('k-e motion') were identified using locally enhanced sampling molecular dynamics simulations, results that agree with experiments. A detailed analysis of the simulations reveals that the k-e motion in Kt-U4 is triggered both by loss of G-A base pairs in the internal loop and backbone flexibility in the stems. Essential dynamics show that the loss of G-A base pairs is correlated along the first mode but anti-correlated along the third mode with the k-e motion. Moreover, when enhanced sampling was confined to the internal loop, the RNA adopted an alternative conformation characterized by a sharper kink, opening of G-A base pairs and modified stacking interactions. Thus, loss of G-A base pairs is insufficient for achieving a large opening of the free RNA. These findings, supported by previously published RNA structure probing experiments, suggest that G-A base pair formation occurs upon protein binding, thereby stabilizing a selective orientation of the stems.

Stability of libration points in the restricted four-body problem with variable mass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mittal, Amit; Aggarwal, Rajiv; Suraj, Md. Sanam; Bisht, Virender Singh

2016-10-01

We have investigated the stability of the Lagrangian solutions for the restricted four-body problem with variable mass. It has been assumed that the three primaries with masses m1, m2 and m3 form an equilateral triangle, wherein m2=m3. According to Jeans' law (Astronomy and Cosmogony, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1928), the infinitesimal body varies its mass m with time. The space-time transformations of Meshcherskii (Studies on the Mechanics of Bodies of Variable Mass, GITTL, Moscow, 1949) are used by taking the values of the parameters q=1/2, k=0, n=1. The equations of motion of the infinitesimal body with variable mass have been determined. The equations of motion of the current problem differ from the ones of the restricted four-body problem with constant mass. There exist eight libration points, out of which two are collinear with the primary m1 and the rest are non-collinear for a fixed value of parameters γ (m {at time} t/m {at initial time}, 0<γ≤1 ), α (the proportionality constant in Jeans' law (Astronomy and Cosmogony, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1928), 0≤α≤2.2) and μ=0.019 (the mass parameter). All the libration points are found to be unstable. The zero velocity surfaces (ZVS) are also drawn and regions of motion are discussed.

Assessing the Utility of Strong Motion Data to Determine Static Ground Displacements During Great Megathrust Earthquakes: Tohoku and Iquique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herman, M. W.; Furlong, K. P.; Hayes, G. P.; Benz, H.

2014-12-01

Strong motion accelerometers can record large amplitude shaking on-scale in the near-field of large earthquake ruptures; however, numerical integration of such records to determine displacement is typically unstable due to baseline changes (i.e., distortions in the zero value) that occur during strong shaking. We use datasets from the 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku earthquake to assess whether a relatively simple empirical correction scheme (Boore et al., 2002) can return accurate displacement waveforms useful for constraining details of the fault slip. The coseismic deformation resulting from the Tohoku earthquake was recorded by the Kiban Kyoshin network (KiK-net) of strong motion instruments as well as by a dense network of high-rate (1 Hz) GPS instruments. After baseline correcting the KiK-net records and integrating to displacement, over 85% of the KiK-net borehole instrument waveforms and over 75% of the KiK-net surface instrument waveforms match collocated 1 Hz GPS displacement time series. Most of the records that do not match the GPS-derived displacements following the baseline correction have large, systematic drifts that can be automatically identified by examining the slopes in the first 5-10 seconds of the velocity time series. We apply the same scheme to strong motion records from the 2014 Mw 8.2 Iquique earthquake. Close correspondence in both direction and amplitude between coseismic static offsets derived from the integrated strong motion time series and those predicted from a teleseismically-derived finite fault model, as well as displacement amplitudes consistent with InSAR-derived results, suggest that the correction scheme works successfully for the Iquique event. In the absence of GPS displacements, these strong motion-derived offsets provide constraints on the overall distribution of slip on the fault. In addition, the coseismic strong motion-derived displacement time series (50-100 s long) contain a near-field record of the temporal evolution of the rupture, supplementing teleseismic data and improving resolution of the location and timing of moment in finite fault models.

Comparing cervical spine motion with different halo devices in a cadaveric cervical instability model.

PubMed

DiPaola, Christian P; Sawers, Andrew; Conrad, Bryan P; Horodyski, MaryBeth; DiPaola, Matthew J; Del Rossi, Gianluca; Rechtine, Glenn R

2009-01-15

Biomechanical evaluation of conventional and noninvasive halos in cadaveric C1-C2 and C5-C6 instability models. To compare the ability of a conventional halo and noninvasive halo (NIH) to immobilize the unstable cervical spine at the C1-C2 and C5-C6 levels. Many successful outcomes have been reported in cervical spine injury treatment with the conventional halo (CH); however, complications related to pin sites have been reported. The NIH was designed to overcome these complications. To date, no investigation has compared the biomechanical efficacy of the NIH with that of the CH in restricting three-dimensional cervical spine motion. A global instability was created at the C1-C2 level in 4 cadavers and at C5-C6 in 4 others. Relative motion was measured between the superior and inferior vertebrae during the donning process, execution of the log roll technique, and during the process of sitting up. This testing sequence was followed for all treatment conditions. During the application of the orthoses there was a significant increase in motion at C1-C2 instability and a trend toward increased motion at the C5-C6 instability with CH compared with NIH. In the log roll maneuver, the CH and NIH restrict motion to a similar degree at the C1-C2 instability level, except in frontal plane translation, where CH immobilizes the segment to a greater extent. For the C5-C6 instability the CH provides significantly better immobilization for lateral bending and axial translation. No significant differences were found between the NIH and CH for the sit-up maneuver at either of the levels. Donning of the NIH generates significantly less cervical spine motion than application of the CH. The CH provides superior immobilization for a C5-C6 instability during the log roll maneuver and a C1-C2 instability in the frontal plane during the log-roll maneuver. The CH and NIH immobilize the C1-C2 and C5-C6 instability to a similar degree during the sit-up maneuver.

TH-CD-207A-04: Optimized Respiratory Gating for Abnormal Breathers in Pancreatic SBRT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Campbell, W; Miften, M; Schefter, T

Purpose: Pancreatic SBRT is uniquely challenging due to both the erratic/unstable motion of the pancreas and the close proximity of the radiosensitive small bowel. Respiratory gating can mitigate this effect, but the irregularity of motion severely affects traditional phase-based gating. The purpose of this study was to analyze real-time motion data of pancreatic tumors to optimize the efficacy and accuracy of respiratory gating, with the overall goal of enabling dose escalated pancreatic SBRT. Methods: Fifteen pancreatic SBRT patients received 30–33 Gy in 5 fractions on a Varian TrueBeam STx unit. Abdominal compression was used to reduce the amplitude of tumormore » motion, and daily cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were acquired prior to each treatment for target localization purposes. For this study, breathing data (phase and amplitude) were collected during each CBCT scan using Varian’s Real-Time Position Management system. An in-house template matching technique was used to track the superior-inferior motion of implanted fiducial markers in CBCT projection images. Using tumor motion and breathing data, phase-based or amplitude-based respiratory gating was simulated for all 75 fractions, targeting either end-exhalation or end-inhalation phases of breathing. Results: For the average patient, gating at end-exhalation offered the best reductions in effective motion for equal duty cycles. However, optimal central phase angle varied widely (range: 0–92%, mean±SD: 49±12%), and phase-based gating windows typically associated with end-exhalation (i.e., “30–70%”) were rarely ideal. Amplitude-based gating significantly outperformed phase-based gating, with average effective ranges for amplitude-based gating 25% lower than phase-based gating ranges (as much as 73% lower). Amplitude-based gating was consistently better suited to accommodate abnormal breathing patterns. For both phase-based and amplitude-based gating, end-exhalation provided significantly better results than end-inhalation. Conclusion: Amplitude-based gating reliably outperformed phase-based gating, and end-exhalation was more suitable than end-inhalation. These results will be used to guide future dose-escalation trials. Research funding provided by Varian Medical Systems to Miften and Jones.« less

Using structures of the August 24, 2016 Amatrice earthquake affected area as seismoscopes for assessing ground motion characteristics and parameters of the main shock and its largest aftershocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carydis, Panayotis; Lekkas, Efthymios; Mavroulis, Spyridon

2017-04-01

On August 24, 2016 an Mw 6.0 earthquake struck Central Apennines (Italy) resulting in 299 fatalities, 388 injuries and about 3000 homeless in Amatrice wider area. Normal faulting surface ruptures along the western slope of Mt Vettore along with provided focal mechanisms demonstrated a NW-SE striking and SE dipping causative normal fault. The dominant building types in the affected area are unreinforced masonry (URM) and reinforced concrete (RC) buildings. Based on our macroseismic survey in the affected area immediately after the earthquake, RC buildings suffered non-structural damage including horizontal cracking of infill and internal partition walls, detachment of infill walls from the surrounding RC frame and detachment of large plaster pieces from infill walls as well as structural damage comprising soft story failure, symmetrical buckling of rods, compression damage at midheight of columns and bursting of over-stressed columns resulting in partial or total collapse. Damage in RC buildings was due to poor quality of concrete, inadequacy of reinforcement, inappropriate foundation close to the edge of slopes leading to differential settlements, poor workmanship and the destructive effect of vertical ground motions. Damage in URM buildings ranged from cracks and detachment of large plaster pieces from load-bearing walls to destruction due to poor workmanship with randomly placed materials bound by low-strength mortars, the effect of the vertical ground motion, inadequate repair and/or strengthening after previous earthquakes as well as inadequate interventions, additions and extensions to older URM buildings. During field surveying, the authors had the opportunity to observe damage induced not only by the main shock but also by its largest aftershocks (Mw 4.5-5.3) during the first three days of the aftershock sequence (August 24-26). Bearing in mind that: (a) soil conditions in foundations of the affected villages were more or less similar, (b) building damage induced by the studied earthquakes indicated the predominant effect of the vertical ground motion on buildings based on already reported building damage induced by recent destructive events in the Mediterranean region, (c) the conventional dynamic parameters of buildings did not play a significant role in their seismic response against the vertical component, due to its impact type of loading, (d) structures and materials presented similar response to ground motions almost independent from type and existing quality, and carried memories from previous large shocks of this sequence, (e) the main shock and its largest aftershocks caused building damage including spatial homothetic motions that reached statistically significant levels, it is concluded that the main shock and its largest aftershocks had similar focal mechanism parameters (normal faulting), were shallow events and were near-field earthquakes with short duration but high amplitude and the vertical component of the earthquakes' ground motion has prevailed. The aforementioned approach based solely on macroseismic observations was applied in the case of the 1755 Great Lisbon earthquake in order to determine its mechanism and epicenter location. Thus, it is suggested that the aforementioned methodology can be applied either in past historic earthquakes or complementarily in cases when the available seismological data are insufficient.

Peridynamic theory for modeling three-dimensional damage growth in metallic and composite structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ochoa-Ricoux, Juan Pedro

A recently introduced nonlocal peridynamic theory removes the obstacles present in classical continuum mechanics that limit the prediction of crack initiation and growth in materials. It is also applicable at different length scales. This study presents an alternative approach for the derivation of peridynamic equations of motion based on the principle of virtual work. It also presents solutions for the longitudinal vibration of a bar subjected to an initial stretch, propagation of a pre-existing crack in a plate subjected to velocity boundary conditions, and crack initiation and growth in a plate with a circular cutout. Furthermore, damage growth in composites involves complex and progressive failure modes. Current computational tools are incapable of predicting failure in composite materials mainly due to their mathematical structure. However, the peridynamic theory removes these obstacles by taking into account non-local interactions between material points. Hence, an application of the peridynamic theory to predict how damage propagates in fiber reinforced composite materials subjected to mechanical and thermal loading conditions is presented. Finally, an analysis approach based on a merger of the finite element method and the peridynamic theory is proposed. Its validity is established through qualitative and quantitative comparisons against the test results for a stiffened composite curved panel with a central slot under combined internal pressure and axial tension. The predicted initial and final failure loads, as well as the final failure modes, are in close agreement with the experimental observations. This proposed approach demonstrates the capability of the PD approach to assess the durability of complex composite structures.

A Catalog of Moment Tensors and Source-type Characterization for Small Events at Uturuncu Volcano, Bolivia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alvizuri, C. R.; Tape, C.

2015-12-01

We present a catalog of full seismic moment tensors for 63 events from Uturuncu volcano in Bolivia. The events were recorded during 2011-2012 in the PLUTONS seismic array of 24 broadband stations. Most events had magnitudes between 0.5 and 2.0 and did not generate discernible surface waves; the largest event was Mw 2.8. For each event we computed the misfit between observed and synthetic waveforms, and we also used first-motion polarity measurements to reduce the number of possible solutions. Each moment tensor solution was obtained using a grid search over the six-dimensional space of moment tensors. For each event we characterize the variation of moment tensor source type by plotting the misfit function in eigenvalue space, represented by a lune. We plot the optimal solutions for the 63 events on the lune in order to identify three subsets of the catalog: (1) a set of isotropic events, (2) a set of tensional crack events, and (3) a swarm of events southeast of the volcanic center that appear to be double couples. The occurrence of positively isotropic events is consistent with other published results from volcanic and geothermal regions. Several of these previous results, as well as our results, cannot be interpreted within the context of either an oblique opening crack or a crack-plus-double-couple model; instead they require a multiple-process source model. Our study emphasizes the importance of characterizing uncertainties for full moment tensors, and it provides strong support for isotropic events at Uturuncu volcano.

An innovative approach to achieve re-centering and ductility of cement mortar beams through randomly distributed pseudo-elastic shape memory alloy fibers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shajil, N.; Srinivasan, S. M.; Santhanam, M.

2012-04-01

Fibers can play a major role in post cracking behavior of concrete members, because of their ability to bridge cracks and distribute the stress across the crack. Addition of steel fibers in mortar and concrete can improve toughness of the structural member and impart significant energy dissipation through slow pull out. However, steel fibers undergo plastic deformation at low strain levels, and cannot regain their shape upon unloading. This is a major disadvantage in strong cyclic loading conditions, such as those caused by earthquakes, where self-centering ability of the fibers is a desired characteristic in addition to ductility of the reinforced cement concrete. Fibers made from an alternative material such as shape memory alloy (SMA) could offer a scope for re-centering, thus improving performance especially after a severe loading has occurred. In this study, the load-deformation characteristics of SMA fiber reinforced cement mortar beams under cyclic loading conditions were investigated to assess the re-centering performance. This study involved experiments on prismatic members, and related analysis for the assessment and prediction of re-centering. The performances of NiTi fiber reinforced mortars are compared with mortars with same volume fraction of steel fibers. Since re-entrant corners and beam columns joints are prone to failure during a strong ground motion, a study was conducted to determine the behavior of these reinforced with NiTi fiber. Comparison is made with the results of steel fiber reinforced cases. NiTi fibers showed significantly improved re-centering and energy dissipation characteristics compared to the steel fibers.

Fretting Wear of Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miyoshi, Kazuhisa; Lerch, Bradley A.; Draper, Susan L.

2001-01-01

An investigation was conducted to examine the wear behavior of gamma titanium aluminide (Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb in atomic percent) in contact with a typical nickel-base superalloy under repeated microscopic vibratory motion in air at temperatures from 296-823 K. The surface damage observed on the interacting surfaces of both Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb and superalloy consisted of fracture pits, oxides, metallic debris, scratches, craters, plastic deformation, and cracks. The Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb transferred to the superalloy at all fretting conditions and caused scuffing or galling. The increasing rate of oxidation at elevated temperatures led to a drop in Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb wear at 473 K. Mild oxidative wear was observed at 473 K. However, fretting wear increased as the temperature was increased from 473-823 K. At 723 and 823 K, oxide disruption generated cracks, loose wear debris, and pits on the Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb wear surface. Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb wear generally decreased with increasing fretting frequency. Both increasing slip amplitude and increasing load tended to produce more metallic wear debris, causing severe abrasive wear in the contacting metals. Keywords

Solar Tests of Aperture Plate Materials for Solar Thermal Dish Collectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jaffe, L. D.

1984-01-01

If a malfunction occurs in a solar thermal point-focus distributed receiver power plant while a concentrator is pointed at the Sun, motion of the concentrator may stop. As the Sun moves relative to the Earth, the spot of concentrated sunlight then slowly walks off the receiver aperture, across the receiver face plate, and perhaps across adjacent portions of the concentrator. Intense local heating by the concentrated sunlight may damage or destroy these parts. The behavior of various materials under conditions simulating walk-off of a parabolic dish solar collector were evaluated. Each test consisted of exposure to concentrated sunlight at a peak flux density of about 7000 kW/square meter for 15 minutes. Types of materials tested included graphite, silicon carbide, silica, various silicates, alumina, zirconia, aluminum, copper, steel, and polytetrafluoroethylene. The only material that neither cracked nor melted was grade G-90 graphite. Grade CS graphite, a lower cost commercial grade, cracked half-way across, but did not fall apart. Both of these grades are medium-grain extruded graphites. A graphite cloth (graphitized polyacrylonitrile) showed fair performance when tested as a single thin ply; it might be useful as a multi-ply assembly. High purity slipcast silica showed some promise also.

Solar tests of aperture plate materials for solar thermal dish collectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jaffe, L. D.

1984-01-01

If a malfunction occurs in a solar thermal point-focus distributed receiver power plant while a concentrator is pointed at the sun, motion of the concentrator may stop. As the sun moves relative to the earth, the spot of concentrated sunlight then slowly walks off the receiver aperture, across the receiver face plate, and perhaps across adjacent portions of the concentrator. Intense local heating by the concentrated sunlight may damage or destroy these parts. The behavior of various materials under conditions simulating walk-off of a parabolic dish solar collector were evaluated. Each test consisted of exposure to concentrated sunlight at a peak flux density of about 7000 kW/square meter for 15 minutes. Types of materials tested included graphite, silicon carbide, silica, various silicates, alumina, zirconia, aluminum, copper, steel, and polytetrafluroethylene. The only material that neither cracked nor melted was grade G-90 graphite. Grade CS graphite, a lower cost commercial grade, cracked half-way across, but did not fail apart. Both of these grades are medium-grain extruded graphites. A graphite cloth (graphitized polyacrylonitrile) showed fair performance when tested as a single thin ply; it might be useful as a multi-ply assembly. High purity slipcast silica showed some promise also.

Solar tests of aperture plate materials for solar thermal dish collectors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jaffe, L. D.

1984-01-01

If a malfunction occurs in a solar thermal point-focus distributed receiver power plant while a concentrator is pointed at the sun, motion of the concentrator may stop. As the sun moves relative to the earth, the spot of concentrated sunlight then slowly walks off the receiver aperture, across the receiver face plate, and perhaps across adjacent portions of the concentrator. Intense local heating by the concentrated sunlight may damage or destroy these parts. The behavior of various materials under conditions simulating walk-off of a parabolic dish solar collector were evaluated. Each test consisted of exposure to concentrated sunlight at a peak flux density of about 7000 kW/square meter for 15 minutes. Types of materials tested included graphite, silicon carbide, silica, various silicates, alumina, zirconia, aluminum, copper, steel, and polytetrafluoroethylene. The only material that neither cracked nor melted was grade G-90 graphite. Grade CS graphite, a lower cost commercial grade, cracked half-way across, but did not fall apart. Both of these grades are medium-grain extruded graphites. A graphite cloth (graphitized polyacrylonitrile) showed fair performance when tested as a single thin ply; it might be useful as a multi-ply assembly. High purity slipcast silica showed some promise also.

An interferometric strain-displacement measurement system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sharpe, William N., Jr.

1989-01-01

A system for measuring the relative in-plane displacement over a gage length as short as 100 micrometers is described. Two closely spaced indentations are placed in a reflective specimen surface with a Vickers microhardness tester. Interference fringes are generated when they are illuminated with a He-Ne laser. As the distance between the indentations expands or contracts with applied load, the fringes move. This motion is monitored with a minicomputer-controlled system using linear diode arrays as sensors. Characteristics of the system are: (1) gage length ranging from 50 to 500 micrometers, but 100 micrometers is typical; (2) least-count resolution of approximately 0.0025 micrometer; and (3) sampling rate of 13 points per second. In addition, the measurement technique is non-contacting and non-reinforcing. It is useful for strain measurements over small gage lengths and for crack opening displacement measurements near crack tips. This report is a detailed description of a new system recently installed in the Mechanisms of Materials Branch at the NASA Langley Research Center. The intent is to enable a prospective user to evaluate the applicability of the system to a particular problem and assemble one if needed.